


What If

by HypersomniacGrad



Series: What If [1]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Car Accidents, F/F, Romance, and a very snarky Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-24 04:59:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 40,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4906447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HypersomniacGrad/pseuds/HypersomniacGrad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>PP2 (sometime before the retreat) but deviates from the story: After living through the worst day of her life, Beca meets an accident and comes face to face with Death. As she ponders on whether or not she still wants to wake up from her coma, she asks herself, what if she never joined the Bellas? If she never existed? If she died? Death takes her on a journey to find out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Colors

**Author's Note:**

> I swear this is a Bechloe fic that intended to take a light note of a serious matter... somewhere along the way it turned into something else I never expected it to be, so I'm sharing it here now. I'll be uploading chapters daily. ;)
> 
> or at least try too...
> 
> I don't own pitch perfect

White. It was all white.

Beca fond that strangely amusing. Mostly because she thought it would all go black and not be white. Black was more her color.

Hospital walls were white. Their beds were covered by sheets and pillow with cases of white. Most hospital gowns were white. Even the sickening smell of antiseptic reminded her of white.

The sky was a dark gray though, as the storm raged on continuously. She was walking from the Bella house, the one Chloe had pushed so hard for, and was on her way to the radio station, still dropping by every now and then despite being busy with prepping for the Worlds and her internship.

Her mood was of a darker shade of gray though, almost black but not quite so. She wasn’t planning on storming out after one argument followed the other. One, she broke up with Jesse, it was time she was honest about how she felt, that they were better off friends, and Jesse willingly let her go. For a moment everything was fine, but when Jesse told her that she was still hiding behind one lie and told her to just go for it with Chloe, that unexpectedly escalated into a fight. Jesse accused her of being her beard because she was being a coward and if she was walking away from her safety net then she should jump full speed ahead. Beca was still adamant about denying it all, still afraid, after all, the redhead was the only one who could ever make her feel fragile and she feared that “going for it” meant “falling apart completely”.

Irrational? Yes. But True? Even more so.

Two, she had just come home from her apparently not-so-secret internship feeling incredibly smaller than she actually was (she had to chuckle at herself with the height joke she made to herself) when Chloe was having a major meltdown. It was like she became Aubrey 2.0 and Beca was worried for her. She could only fail Russian Lit so many times – it didn’t help that Beca accidentally found out that Chloe herself was fluent with Russian and the subject was actually something she was good at. It didn’t help that she’s been so wrapped up about the Worlds and Beca felt so torn about it. She figured that if they win, Chloe might just be willing to fail again and stay another year for the Bellas, if they lost, she was going to have a major breakdown. 

So Beca called her out on it. Chloe called her out on being spaced out. And before they knew it, the whole thing blew up into a major argument and Beca – having the worst day of her life – decided to walk out on all of it.

She was about to cross the street when it happened. The rain was coming down hard, Beca cursed herself for not even bothering with an umbrella or a coat when a car was speeding down the slippery street and lost control. 

Instead of the grey sky above her all she saw was red. No, not her blood, but the flashes of a bubbly redhead going through her mind. It was poetic really. They say when you die you see your life flash before your eyes. Maybe Jesse was right, and she was being an idiot, too bad it’s too late now. Who knew that one girl would become Beca’s whole life?

One last flash of red. And then everything was white.

\-------

They worked on her for hours. Beca was now in of those oh-so white hospital beds surrounded by the oh-so white walls surrounded by the God infernal noise of the machines supporting her life. No one was even there. Except for herself.

She wondered briefly if the Bellas even knew, if Chloe has heard. She thought about her dad, Jesse too. If she died, would they know? Would they care?

And then she found it amusing. She saw herself lying down, all cut up and broken, while she herself was standing in front of herself all dressed in – surprise, surprise – white.

Nothing about that made sense.

“No, you’re not dead.” she heard a young boy who looked to be around nine or ten say. He was leaning on those white walls, his oversized black hoodie that mostly hid his cargo shorts a stark contrast to his extremely pale skin and his shock of white hair. His eyes stood out too. She’s never seen anyone with rose colored eyes.

“You can see me?” was the first thing that came out of Beca’s mouth and the boy nodded.

“Your corporeal body and your ethereal self.” he commented.

“Who- what the hell is going on?” 

“You’re in a coma.” the boy said matter-of-factly.

“You don’t say.” Beca deadpanned.

The boy laughed a little. “Still have your humor then.”

Beca looked at the strange boy with confusion, still trying to process the whole situation. “Who are you? What am I doing outside my body? Why can you see me?”

“Oh, I’m called by many names.” the boy started to say. “Some call me the reaper, others a Shinigami, sometimes I’m called Grim. But you can call me Death.”

Beca simply starred back at the young innocent looking child in front of her trying to process how something or someone Chloe would have definitely called “cute” was the very personification of Death. 

“I’m guessing you thought I would be more daunting than this?” Death says and Beca nods. “Good things come in little packages.”

Beca smirked. Death just made a joke.

“Back to your questions.” Death then continued. “I can see you because I’m Death. I’m here because you subconsciously summoned me. No one is here, at least not yet, and you wonder if they still care about you. You wonder if you’re even good enough, to lead the Barden Bellas, to fight for your dreams, to be with the person you love. And so you contemplate about death, how easy it would be now to just give up, because no one can blame you. No one will miss you, right? Well what if you’re wrong?”

“I…” Beca started before taking a quick glance at herself stretched on what could possibly be her death bed.

“What if you never existed, would the Bellas have been better off? What if they never met you? What if you died? ‘What if’ seems to be the only thing you’re concerned about, well then what if you lived?”

“I don’t understand.” Beca then said.

“Let me show you. Right now you’re fighting for your life and you think you don’t have anything worth clinging on to anymore. So let me show you and answer your questions, but in the end, promise me you’ll answer one of mine.” Death says, offering his hand out to the young DJ.

Beca took one last look at herself in that hospital bed. What does she have to lose? No one was coming for her anyways. “Deal.” She takes Death’s hand as the light engulfs them.

And as white got engulfed by an unbelievable brightness taking hold of them she saw a streak of red.

Red hair. Blue eyes. Running past the spot they just disappeared. One captain followed by equally distressed looking Bellas.


	2. Jesse's 3 Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death takes Beca to start her journey just as the Bellas arrive at the hospital...
> 
> But how did the Bellas find out about the accident?
> 
> And why is Chloe on the list of what Jesse fears the most?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here’s chapter 2.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated! Sorry if this chapter may come across a bit more dramatic than I intended, but an accident is serious matter.
> 
> I promise the next chapter will be lighter, we’ll have Beca and Death again being all witty and snarky at each other…
> 
> I don’t own pitch perfect

In his whole life Jesse had only two fears. The first was an unsatisfactory ending to a movie. The second was the thought of losing someone he loved.

It was bad enough that those two fears could possibly come true if Beca doesn’t pull through, but right now that was the least of his concerns. He was coming face to face with a third fear he never thought he’d have.

The fear of course had a name. He just never thought it would be Chloe Beale.

One might ask what a sweet and sensitive guy like himself would have done to incur the wrath of the usually happy and bubbly redhead. Well…

It started with Beca, like all of his interactions with Chloe. What else could it have been?

At first, Chloe and Jesse really had nothing going for them. She was a Bella. He was a Treble. They were both helplessly in love with Beca – at least in one point in time for him - Chloe however will always be. He knew that of course, but maybe that’s why he learned to trust and respect her as much as he did now, becoming sort of good friends because of it. Chloe loved Beca so much that she never forced her love on her, she set her free, and if anything, that was damn admirable.

And yes, at first he was jealous that Beca had always placed him second place to Chloe, but he understood. It was a slowly dawning realization he had made during the end of their third year but he eventually got there. He pretty much stayed with Beca since then if only to let the girl make the same realization herself, give her room to think. He was pretty much trying to avoid what had happened earlier, that is, the whole argument. 

He knows it didn’t make complete sense to some. But at least he was there when Beca needed him to be.

Except he unexpectedly failed at that.

So yeah, he wasn’t the first choice. He wasn’t the person listed as Beca’s primary emergency contact, but he was listed second. That’s how he heard about it.

Well, not exactly. He heard from Benji that an accident happened near the radio station, he wanted to check that his best bud was okay. With the torrential downpour happening outside, Jesse wasn’t at all surprised.

It wasn’t after the phone call he received a good thirty minutes later that dread had filled the pits of his stomach. Just the phrase “Ms. Mitchell was in an accident” was enough for Jesse to realize what had happened. Jesse ran as fast as he could towards the Bella house after that, wanting some answers from Chloe, wanting to know why she hasn’t told him that Beca was in an accident, wanting to know if everyone has gone to see her without even telling him.

Chloe opened the door a little frustrated upon seeing a disgruntled Jesse all soaking wet and being a little confrontational.

“Slow down! What about Beca?” Chloe said interrupting his endless mumbling. And that was when it struck Jesse that Chloe doesn’t know.

“Check your phone.” Jesse sullenly said and sure enough Chloe had several voicemails – because yeah, she was that upset with Beca that she just had to turn off her phone – from the University Hospital about being the primary contact of a certain DJ who got into an accident.

There was a whole fiasco about how to get to the hospital and who will drive what car. The students were given an advisory about staying indoors thanks to the storm but Chloe wouldn’t back down. She wanted to get to Beca fast.

Jesse, however was trying to be rational. He wanted them to wait out a bit to try and avoid another accident. He called Beca’s dad as soon as he heard, he was already on this way to the hospital while the whole discussion was going on. Dr. Mitchell’s house, after all, happened to be closer to the hospital than the Bella house.

They might have gotten a little off topic with the argument and Jesse mentioned their break-up and the ensuing argument, sans the part about Beca being in love with Chloe, and Chloe pretty much nearly tore him down right then and there. The thing about Beca’s internship was also brought about, and that really didn’t help Jesse’s case.

“I trusted you with her, you idiot! What could you have done to upset her like that?” Chloe snapped. Emily tried to remind Chloe that they also had a brief argument and that’s why Beca left but Amy nudged her to shut it before Chloe focuses her anger on her.

It couldn’t be helped. The Bellas and Jesse soon found themselves on the way, Amy driving the Bella’s bus, Chloe being inconsolable at a corner. The fury in her eyes was still quite clear as she glared at Jesse and Jesse swore to himself to never ever get the redhead that angry again.

But while Jesse feared for his life from the way Chloe was acting – he swears she’ll rip his heart out if he makes one more mistake – he understood her. She was upset. She was mad at Beca for walking out, mad at herself for letting Beca walk away and snapping at her when she was only being a concerned friend.

They eventually get to the hospital, Chloe leading the pack before she slumps down her on her knees at the sight of Beca. Even Jesse couldn’t help the tears back, no one could. Dr. Mitchell was already there, he was talking to the doctors, but he hasn’t seen Beca.

Two hours pass. Jesse never really payed attention to the passing of time before, he never gave importance to it. The sounds of the machine, the sound of the ticking clock, they all drove him insane. Sure, he has long accepted they were just best friends but Jesse still loved Beca. 

He almost jumped out of his skin when Chloe sat down beside him. “Sorry.” she slurred, handing him a coffee.

“No worries, I get it.” Jesse replied honestly before a thought occurred to him. He started laughing and Chloe glared at him again.

“There’s nothing funny about anything going on here Jesse.”

“No, you’re right. It’s just, I’ve always wondered why whenever you’re upset Beca was a mess. Even when she would come complaining to me about a discussion between the two of you and she’ll tell me about how she was right and you were wrong, she always ends up being the one to admit she’s wrong and appease you. Now I know why.”

“Still nothing funny about it. And did you just insult me?” Chloe replied, although a smile was tugging at the corner of her lips at the thought of Beca doing something incredibly sweet to make it up to Chloe whenever they fought. 

Jesse sniggered, although truth be told he was little bit nervous Chloe would flare up again, she was still very much emotional. “No. It’s just, I can hardly imagine Beca Effin’ Mitchell coming home to the Bellas and as soon as you say something, no matter how ridiculous it is, she’s all ‘yes dear’. She’s not like that with anyone. Just with you.” 

Chloe smiled. “Yeah, well, I guess I scare her enough.”

“Nah, maybe, but I don’t think that’s it. I mean, I get why she’s pretty much a nervous mess, but, the fact that she does something special for you, things she won’t even do for me, is quite something. That’s why I know, I can already see it. She’ll wake up and be all ‘I can’t die, Chloe will kill me if I do!’ the moment she opens her eyes.”

“Tad bit ironic don’t you think?” 

“Ironic but true. “

The two of them sat on the chairs near Beca’s bedside, enjoying the silence for a little while longer.

“She’ll wake up.” Jesse commented a few minutes later even though the fear was overwhelmingly taking him over.

Chloe nodded, trying to desperately hold back the tears. “She’ll come back.” 

It was Jesse’s turn to nod his head along. 

Dr. Mitchell soon joined the two of them, the other Bellas all finding their own places to catch some sleep or grab some food, and informed the two of what had happened to Beca. He found out that the student who had accidentally struck Beca was a bit drunk when he was driving and he lost control. He had a few minor injuries so he was also still in the hospital, but he’ll be fine. Apparently he was the one who also called for the ambulance to help Beca, so he had that going for him.

Chloe nodded as Jesse vocally expressed his opinions about the matter. Soon though, the redhead stood up and marched out the room and Jesse could only guess where she was headed.

Beca better come back, and soon too, if only to save the poor guy who hit her with his car in the first place.


	3. Without Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who calls Death a little twerp?
> 
> Beca, that's who.
> 
> All while Death shows Beca a world where she doesn't exists...

“What the hell was that you little twerp!?” Beca exclaimed as soon as the mystical bright light surrounding them started to disperse. She saw Chloe! And the Bellas! They were rushing towards the room where she was in. She thought she saw Jesse hanging back too, like he was both worried and scared of something at the same time.

Death looked at her unfazed before saying. “Beca Mitchell, you are in no position to be calling me little.”

And of course Beca had to call Death a little twerp. Who even does that?

“I’m still taller than you.” Beca then quipped.

“Just because you’re all but 4 inches taller than I am doesn’t give you the right to call me little. Nor does it give you the right to call me a twerp.”

The light completely vanishes before Beca realized they were in the middle of the quad. She figured she could ask about the Bellas at the hospital later as she takes in what was going on around them. “What the – Why isn’t anyone freaking out we just magically popped up?” she asks confused. “And why is the quad set-up for the activities fair?”

“One, no one can see is. I thought I made that clear to you.” Death said, sounding a little exasperated. “Two, it’s because we are at Barden University’s activities fair.”

“Well that just doesn’t make sense. The activities fair is already done.”

“Not here.” Death simply answered.

“And ‘here’ is?” Beca asked.

“We are currently in a world where Beca Mitchell doesn’t exist.” Death said and a realization hit Beca. When Death said she would give her answers, she wasn’t expecting this show and tell journey. 

They walked around for a bit and watched the interactions between the students. Jesse and Benji were the ones leading the whole recruitment for the Trebles. They were already the co-captains so Beca guessed that this must be their sophomore year in Barden. She couldn’t help but notice a picture lost in the many others displayed on their booth where the two of them were raising a huge trophy together, a trophy that Beca had always admired and she was sure of should be on display in the Bella house.

“The Trebles won Nationals.” Beca then says.

Death looks at her with a smirk. “Really, what gave that away?”

“How- Why- How’d they win?”

“Well, in this world, you don’t exist. You never attend Barden. You don’t get to challenge Aubrey. The Bellas lose at Regionals, they’re given another shot but she insists on sticking to tradition. The Bellas have had enough…”

“What are you saying?” Beca asked with a bit of trepidation.

“The Barden Bellas are no more.” Death simply says as he shrugged.

“What do you mean no more!?” Beca exclaimed.

Death sighs. “Come on now, follow me.”

Beca followed the little boy as he walked around the grounds until they saw the group of girls that Beca would never dare to admit she had grown to care for. Stacie, Amy, Cynthia Rose, Lilly, Jessica, and Ashley were all gathered round for picnic lunch, their conversations filled with the usual crazy shenanigans that they come up with. Beca couldn’t help but chuckle when Amy ended up challenging Stacie to stake her claim on the last piece of brownie that Jessica baked before Lilly sneakily grabbed it and ate it.

“They’re no longer a team, but they’ll always be friends.” Death said and Beca smiled.

“Where’s Chlo?” Beca asked, she couldn’t help it.

“She graduated.” Death replied

“Guess it can’t be helped. I mean, the Bellas didn’t win so she had no reason to stay, right?” Beca said and Death merely smirked.

“You honestly think she stayed to be a Bella, huh?”

“What do you mean shorty?”

“Again with the height jokes Mitchell.” Death said and shook his head. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Being the tall one for once?”

Beca scoffed and feigned innocence. She watched her friends for a while, happy that despite no longer performing together, they were still a family. Death then explained to her what other things were different as they walked around campus, following some of her friends at times, just visiting familiar places at different times.

She found out that Chloe was in graduate school at Barden, so that evening, she was happy to see the redhead when she invites her old team back at her own apartment off campus. That was when Beca started asking about a particular blonde missing and Death simply says she’s in New York.

“I don’t get it.” Beca then says as they stand in Chloe’s living room, invisible to the eyes of all her friends in the room. “Isn’t the purpose of this to show me that their lives are incomplete if I never existed?”

“How would it be incomplete if they never know there’s something missing?” Death threw back.

Beca was a bit thrown off by the question but nevertheless agreed to what he said. The boy was right. She was, however, still confused about the whole thing. “They seem to be fine without me. They’re happy. Jesse’s doing fine with the Trebles, he even found a girlfriend worthy of him. Chloe’s doing great. Aubrey’s probably commandeering a new flock of people she’s working with somewhere in New York. The rest of the Bellas are good too. So are you showing me all of this to test me? You’re trying to make me realize that they’re happier without me? Sure they didn’t win, they didn’t have my musical genius after all.”

“Ha, aren’t we egotistical?” Death interjected and Beca simply rolled her eyes.

“Well it’s true. I still had an important contribution. Anyways, so tell me. Am I supposed to understand that I was indeed right in questioning my existence? They don’t need me.”

“Wrong realization Einstein.” Death remarked. “You asked yourself ‘What if you never existed, would they be better off?’ and I’m showing you only parts of it now. Don’t jump to conclusions without seeing the whole picture.”

“Well then little dude, what am I supposed to realize? That I’m the glue that hold them together because I’m the ‘chosen one’?” Beca quipped.

“Snarky is your default setting, huh?” Death commented. “No. That’s not it either. I’m trying to make you see that somethings are supposed to happen with or without you, but, who you are still made an impact in the life of your friends, and without you, with you never existing, you don’t get to make that impact. You can’t wish you were never born. You’re ethereal self already exists to begin with. I’m just trying to show you and prove to you that you were supposed to exist, that were supposed to live, because you have a purpose.”

“And what would that be, make them miserable?” Beca asked and Death gave her an exasperated look. “I’m sorry but from where I stand, their world hasn’t exactly collapsed without me. My parents are probably even happier with some other kid.”

“No, they never actually meet in this world.”

“Perfect then.” Beca said sarcastically.

Death shook his head. “Beca, Beca, Beca, Beca. How often must I remind you that this is only one part of this world? We’ve barely scratched the surface. Are you telling me that badass DJ extraordinaire Beca Mitchell is a little hurt that her friends look like they’re having the time of their lives without her?”

“Dude! Language!” Beca said.

“I only said ‘badass’” Death said in defense. “Besides, between the two of us, who’s the real potty mouth?”

“Still, you’re like nine.”

“I’m ageless. I just come in an adorable packaging.”

“Fine.” Beca then said. “So this isn’t a test? If their lives are better and I say I still want to go back even if that meant making them miserable you’re not going to tell me I failed the test for being selfish and take me to hell?”

Death looked thoughtful for a minute before cracking a wide grin. “That sounded like a movie plot, I thought you hated movies?” he asked earning him a glare from the DJ. “No this isn’t a test. I’m just trying to show you the answers to your questions so that in the end you’ll have everything you need to make an informed decision when I ask you my question later on.”

“And what would that question be?” Beca asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

“That can wait.” Death answered. “Come on slow poke, we have places to see.”

The pair walked out of Chloe’s apartment – although phase out was a more appropriate term if Beca was being honest – and headed to where they appeared earlier in the quad. 

“Where are we heading?” Beca finally asked once they reached their earlier spot.

“It’s not a question of where but more of a question of when.” Death said. “We’re jumping forward to the girls’ senior year.”

“Why?” Beca asked.

“You’ll see.” was all that Death gave as a reply.


	4. Aubrey's Watch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey drops by to visit Beca - still in a coma - and check on how Chloe's holding up.
> 
> The doctors also come to check the extent of Beca's injuries, DSM drops by, and the guy who hit the DJ with his car in the first place.
> 
> What on earth could possible go wrong with all that?
> 
> And what will Aubrey do with the information Jesse ends slipping up?

When Aubrey received a call from Stacie about Chloe and Beca, she figured it would be about the fight they had earlier the day. The Bellas have been keeping her updated with any little thing that happens between the current co-captains thanks to a still ongoing bet of will they or won’t they.

This was not what she had expected.

The life had pretty much drained out of Aubrey as soon as she entered Beca’s room seeing her hooked up to oh so many machines, Chloe sitting on one of the God infernal chairs trying to be comfortable as she fought the urge to go mad from the beeping sounds of Beca’s life support. It broke Aubrey’s heart to see the tiny DJ in the condition she was in. Sure, they didn’t get along at first, but over the years they’ve developed a strong friendship – a strong friendship that was mostly built upon fear and mutual respect for each other. It helped that the two got along splendidly well with all things Chloe too.

The Bellas had decided to go home and take turns on staying with Chloe who adamantly refused to leave Beca’s side. They all had classes, all Chloe had was Russian Lit, and to be honest, she really didn’t give a damn if she failed again if it meant being right next to Beca when she woke up. 

Jesse was still there, he and Amy had found a good stretch of plastic chairs somewhere outside Beca’s room to lay down and catch some sleep. Chloe on the other hand was probably on her twelfth cup of coffee. She didn’t want to sleep, afraid Beca decides to quit fighting for her life when no one is watching.

“How is she?” Aubrey croaked, she was surprised to hear her voice betray the emotions she was keeping inside. She needed to be strong for Chloe, Beca too, and she must not let Chloe see how hard this was on her too.

Chloe shook her head and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath to calm herself before attempting to say anything. “The guy that hit her was driving a pick-up and the impact was bad. She fractured her left arm and her left leg. She hit her head bad on the concrete and has skull fractures… plus with the whiplash and all…”

Chloe started breaking down and Aubrey immediately jumped the distance between them and hugged her friend, rubbing soothing circles on her back. “Bree, that’s not even all… she also has a few cracked ribs, one of which almost punctured her lungs…”

Aubrey didn’t even notice she was also crying, not until Dr. Mitchell entered the room looking like hell from also spending the night at the hospital. “Chloe, you look tired, I was planning to head home to get some sleep. If you’d like to stay with us since we’re closer to the hospital, you’re free to do so. Sheila’s got Beca’s room set-up for you. Oh, hello Aubrey.”

Aubrey urged Chloe to take the offer, promising she won’t leave Beca’s side until her return. If anything, she was sure that the tiny Bella won’t dare die on her watch.

 

Aubrey was still there when the doctors dropped by to check on Beca again. She asked about how her friend was doing and pretty much got the same details Chloe told her. She found it amusing that she actually said “Pleas doctor, you have to tell me the truth, how is Beca doing? She’s one of my dearest friends.”

Aubrey chuckled, thankful that Beca wasn’t conscious to hear her say it. Who would have thought that one day the phrase “dearest friend” would ever be applicable to her?

Aubrey smiled a sad smile. Beca had her left arm and left leg in a cast. She saw the extent of the injuries hidden beneath the hospital gown too – which made her thankful that Chloe wasn’t there, she would have completely broken down upon seeing them, that is, if she wasn’t broken down before – and to top that off, Beca’s arms and face were covered with cuts and bruises. Her right leg also covered with lacerations. The impact had apparently thrown her a good few feet away and right into some sort of concrete wall.

“You better not die hobbit.” Aubrey heard herself say. “I swear I’ll follow you to heaven or hell if you break Chloe’s heart by dying.”

“That is quite a threat. I don’t believe we have met.” she heard a woman say, her voice laced with a thick German accent.

Aubrey looked up and saw two incredibly tall Germans walk into the room. “Why are we even here?” the German guy asked trudging behind the blonde who had placed an incredibly mean looking teddy bear with a ‘Get Well Soon’ shirt by the bedside table.

Aubrey stood up, game face on, from the way the two were dressed they were definitely from DSM. “I could ask you the same thing? Get out now, before I raise hell. And trust me, you don’t want that.”

“We’re simply here to check on the little elf.” the blonde Valkyrie-looking leader of DSM, the Kommissar, had said sounding shockingly genuinely concerned. “I find her amusing.” she then added when she noticed the death glare coming from Aubrey turn into a confused expression. Before the equally tall Pieter could comment though, Chloe came storming into Beca’s room with Jesse.

“What in the aca-hell do you think you two are doing here?”

After a few minutes of insults and witty banter, coming from both Aubrey and Chloe as they went against the Germans in a verbal smackdown, the two Germans left and the mean teddy bear may or may not have been fluffily murdered and torn apart by a certain redhead in the middle of all the trash talk.

“Note to self, don’t ever get any Bella woman angry.” Jesse said as he moved towards one end of the room, keeping a very noticeable distance from Aubrey and Chloe.

“What did you say?” the two snapped.

“Nothing.”

“How is she?” Chloe then asked, as she returned to looking visibly relaxed a little and a little calmer than her nervous-wreck of a state that Aubrey had found her in a good three hours ago.

Aubrey shook her head and Chloe understood. “The doctors came earlier. They said that the next forty eight hours or so would be crucial.”

“Uhm… he-hello…” they heard a tall blond young man say. He had a number of cuts and bruises on his face like Beca and a neck brace on. They found him standing by the door of the DJ’s room, leaning on his crutches.

He visibly gulped as soon as Chloe’s fierce gaze landed on him. Aubrey looked at Jesse confused but even the Treble looked visibly upset.

“I… Well… Uhm… I just wanted to see how she’s… you know… doing…”

“You better pray she pulls through.” Chloe said seethingly and things eventually clicked for Aubrey. The poor guy was shaking in his shoes as he hobbled away after sputtering some sort of apology for everything.

Chloe reclaimed the chair near Beca’s bed, moving it even closer. The expression on her face became gentler as she gazed upon the brunette at the same time as she reached out to grab her right hand. She gave it a gentle squeeze as she whispered “Hey, I’m here. I’m back.” 

Aubrey chance a glance at Jesse who was leaning on the wall, a melancholic smile on his face, before looking back at Chloe. “Hey Chlo, Jesse and I are gonna grab some coffee. We’ll be back.” she said and Chloe nodded.

As soon as they were out of the room, Aubrey heard Jesse take a deep breath. “They really love each other, huh?” he said and Aubrey absent-mindedly nodded before all of a sudden halting. “You said ‘they’ not ‘she’.”

“Well, yeah.” Jesse said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Swanson, I know my best friend is helplessly in love with Beca. Are you telling me that your girlfriend is in love with my best friend?”

“Ex-girlfriend…” Jesse started before Aubrey muttered something about the Bellas forgetting to let her know about that. “Beca broke up with me because we were better off friends, as she claims, I think it’s because she’s finally realizing she’s in love with Chloe.”

Aubrey eyed Jesse curiously with his nonchalance over the matter. “And you’re okay with this?”

Jesse nodded. “Yeah. I honestly can’t think of anyone else better to be with Beca than Chloe. I mean, it sucked for a while, but you know… I just want them to be happy. I just want Beca to be with someone who makes her happy.” he said and shrugged.

“And you heard Mitchell say she’s in love with Chloe?” Aubrey clarified and Jesse got all dodgy before explaining to her that they had an argument about it, but he thinks his right never the less.

Aubrey hummed thoughtfully as he dragged Jesse along for coffee. 

There was no way she was going to allow Beca to die now, not like she had any say in the matter but she will see to it that any doctor who fails saving her friend now will learn to fear the name ‘Aubrey Posen’. The hobbit has to live and face her feelings for the redhead, and Aubrey will make sure of it. She just needs to wake up.


	5. Anchor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Beca started to cry again. She felt the hurt for Chloe. She felt the pain of losing something very much important to her.
> 
> Beca started to sing along to the lyrics of the song, tears still silently trailing down her cheeks. She smiled at the memory of Chloe ambushing her in the showers and prompting her to sing.
> 
> Then something weird started to happen.
> 
> Not that anything going on was normal at all. 
> 
> Chloe looked up from the paper she was reading and started looking around her apartment. Face all scrunched up. “Hello?” she asked looking slightly alarmed.
> 
> Death appeared behind her looking quite confused. “What did you do?” he asked.

“Where are we?” asked a very much confused Beca as soon as the dizzying lights that got them to jump from place to place started to fade away.

“The senior year your friends would have had if you never existed.” Death answered.

“But we are not in Barden.” Beca said, pointing the obvious, as they walked along Times Square.

“We’re here to visit Aubrey.” Death said as they made their way to one of the most intimidating looking buildings that ever graced the Manhattan skyline.

Death grabbed Beca by the arm as he started to float up to reach the penthouse suite. He chuckled hearing Beca curse a number of times with the sudden flight until she finally realized that she wasn’t going to fall down and die anytime soon.

They landed on the balcony and Death started laughing at the disgruntled look on Beca’s face. “Dude, what the f-” she heard her start to say before he jumped in.

“Language!” he said with a grin.

Beca groaned. Of course the little twerp would use the same line against her.

The flat was set up neatly, simple but elegant. Aubrey was in her study, neck deep in paper works and whatever work stuff she was dealing with, with the occasional yelling at someone over the phone. Everything look rigid, nothing compared to the Aubrey that Beca knew. Sure she was always strict, but the Aubrey in front of her was cold, and hard, and empty.

“Why is she like this?” Beca asked, a little lost. “That’s not the Aubrey I know. The one in front of me is even worse.”

“You see, the Bellas never had the heart to heart confession talk you had before your first Nationals. Aubrey lost the Bellas, and Aubrey also lost her best friend. She lost Chloe. They haven’t spoken in years now.”

Beca looked at the Aubrey in front of her and she realized what Death was trying to say. The two balanced each other. True, there were times where they brought out the worst in each other, but they always managed to work it out. More than that, they also brought the best out of each other. 

The scene shifted and distorted in front of them and Beca was now standing in the same living room she stood moments before they left for the time jump. They were in Chloe’s living room.

“She’s getting her PhD.” Death pointed out as Beca smiled proudly at Chloe who had somehow surrounded herself with books and numerous journal articles. She was typing away in her laptop, bopping her head to the sound of the music she was listening to. That’s when Beca noticed something off.

“Why isn’t she singing along?” Beca asked. Death shoved his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts and tipped his head to one side.

“You remember her nodes? She never got them removed when she was supposed to and she’s been putting it off for years, this is when it finally takes a toll on her.” Death started and a realization dawned on Beca. She couldn’t help it as the tears simply came. 

“She- no…” Beca said, staring at the version of the redhead in front of her. “She can’t sing anymore.”

The truth hurt a lot. Not that this was exactly the truth, but still, Beca doesn’t know what she would do if she lost her connection to music, if she couldn’t sing or if can’t make her mixes anymore.

“Shall we go see the rest of your friends?” Death asked, his face unyielding of any emotions.

“Are their fates this bad?” Beca grumbled.

“Not exactly, some are strange though. Cynthia Rose never confesses to her gambling problem so she’s only getting that fixed now. Amy may or may not have jumped Benji’s bones.”

“Oh… Oh God… That can’t be pretty!” Beca said, unsuccessful with trying to contain the laughter. “And don’t ever use that phrase, ever, again. Ageless or not, you look like you’re some unspoiled youth, so just don’t.”

Death smiled, glad to see Beca trying to recover from the bad news the version of Chloe who was in front of them had to live through. “How about the rest of the Bellas? How’s Jesse? How about Emily?” he hears Beca say as she chances a glance back at Chloe.

“Emily never attends Barden. She’s lost the chance to get to be a Bella, and with the school focusing on the success of the Trebles instead, they really couldn’t care much for the Bellas anymore.” Death answers. “Let’s see, Flo never becomes friends with anyone of the Bellas, she’s still at Barden though, she’s joined a number of different clubs to bide her time but she hasn’t found her own real core group. Stacie’s more distant with the girls now that she’s joined a sorority. She’s been busy with a lot of trivial things too. Jessica and Ashley are still best friends but they only get to hang out with Amy every now and then.”

“They sort of grow apart.” Beca mumbles and Death nods as he smiles a tight-lip smile.

“Come on. Follow me.” he then tells Beca.

“Where are we going this time?” Beca asks but before Death answers they see Jesse at the hospital. The ‘What If’ version of the hospital where she was in.

Beca watches as Jesse tries to recover from the accident that was meant for her while Death gave her an explanation of what happened. On his way to the radio station, Jesse gets to be the one hit by the speeding car, a convertible for his case and not the pick-up that hit Beca. It helped that it wasn’t during a stormy night either. “Thanks to the noticeable height difference between you two though, the damages for him are mostly confined to his lower extremities.” Death then comments.

“Yes, because him being tall is the only reason why he gets out of the accident with a broken leg while I get to be a broken me.” Beca deadpans before she sighed. Jesse had a really pretty nurse attending him who he seemed to like him, so there was his silver lining. He was flirting with her too. “Well, at least she gets to win the girl in this scene.”

Death let out a cackle. “What, because life is such a cliché? It follows the plot of a movie? No, he just got lucky. Besides, it wasn’t his time.”

“And what? It was mine?”

“Not that either, but you’re at a crossroads right now.”

Beca nodded. “Can I get some time alone to explore this world?” she asked. Death weighed the options and possibilities of what might happen for a moment or two before he agreed.

Beca soon found herself back at Chloe’s apartment, just watching the redhead pour herself in her studies. 

Chloe was seated on her floor, all reading materials scattered on her coffee table along with her laptop. Beca moved over to where she was and sat down the floor too until they were face to face. She waived her hand right in front of the redhead and sighed when she failed to elicit any reactions from her.

“Guess you really can’t see me, huh?” she said softly. “Look, sorry I was being all mean to you earlier. Well, not you, but you know, the version of you I get to see every day. I mean, I got to spend time with every day.”

The version of Chloe in front of her paid no attention to what Beca was saying but Beca just continued to watch her anyways, missing her own version of the redhead. Chloe started to smile as she started to hear the start of a familiar song. Beca laughed a little. “Of course.” she commented as she heard ‘Titanium’ blaring through the speakers.

Then Beca realized just how sad Chloe’s smile was. 

She probably wanted to sing along.

But thanks to her nodes, she’s lost her singing range.

And Beca started to cry again. She felt the hurt for Chloe. She felt the pain of losing something very much important to her.

Beca started to sing along to the lyrics of the song, tears still silently trailing down her cheeks. She smiled at the memory of Chloe ambushing her in the showers and prompting her to sing.

Then something weird started to happen.

Not that anything going on was normal at all. 

Chloe looked up from the paper she was reading and started looking around her apartment. Face all scrunched up. “Hello?” she asked looking slightly alarmed.

Death appeared behind her looking quite confused. “What did you do?” he asked.

“I sang.” Beca simply answered before turning her attention back to Chloe.

“You don’t say.” Death gave as a snarky reply. “That’s so not the reason why she’s looking for the source of some disembodied voice.”

Beca stood up and marched towards Death. “She heard me sing?” she asked incredulously before the scene around them started to haze and shift.

“Something’s happening.” Death announced and Beca looked at her expectantly. “Not here. To your body, the one you left behind.” he edified.

Before Beca knew it they were back at the hospital. In front of her was her badly beaten body surrounded by a number of doctors checking for her vitals.

Chloe was standing somewhere near the bed her hands on her face, covering her mouth, her eyes conveying her surprise. Aubrey was there, her arms around her best friend, looking just as confused. 

Jesse easily phased through where Beca was standing followed by her father. 

Putting the strangeness of having two people pass right through her on hold – because yes, she and Death will have a lengthy discussion about that later – she turned around to look at the equally confused boy with her.

“What’s going on?” she asked, surprised to hear her father ask the same question she did at the same time.

Death pointed at the group of doctors who stepped away from her corporeal body. One of them spoke up. “Nothing to worry about Dr. Mitchell. It seems like your daughter’s friends where just hallucinating or something. They’re all probably tired.”

“Okay, maybe that guy’s not the right person to provide us the information we needed.” Death sighed.

Once the doctors left the room, Chloe slumped back down on her chair, her hand automatically reaching for Beca’s right hand. Aubrey looked at Dr. Mitchell, confusion still etched on his features. “Beca stated crying.” she explained, she sounded a little freaked out. “And she just stopped all of a sudden. The geniuses looking after her probably think we’re crazy now.”

Beca gaped at Aubrey at the little revelation before returning her attention back to Death. 

The boy once again assumed an emotionless expression on his face. “What did you sing?” he asked.

“Why does it matter?” Beca asked.

“Because you probably sang a song that conveyed a strong memory, anchoring you back here. Don’t do that again.” 

“Wait, why?” Beca asked. “Isn’t having an anchor a good thing?”

“Yes, if we’re just hanging around here or walking back down memory lane. We’re travelling between realities Beca, traversing between realms that separate worlds that can never intertwine. The ‘What If’ version of Chloe you sang to managed to hear you sing because the Chloe right before you now felt the distress of seeing you cry. Your anchor provided a connection to worlds that shouldn’t be connected. If that happens again, with you being stuck in the other world, you can die in this one. And you can’t die yet. Not until we’re done with our journey.”

“What happens if I die as an effect of that?” Beca ventured to ask.

Death sighed. “If you die with your ethereal self here, I can take your soul to your paradise, where maybe one day you can meet Chloe again. If you die because of a similar event just like what happened, you simply disappear.” Death answered truthfully

“Right. Got it. Singing to whatever version of Chloe is bad then. At least for now.”

Death nodded and once Beca turned her attention back to the Chloe in front of her, he smiled, taking Beca’s answer as a tiny spark of hope that maybe, just maybe, he was getting through the DJ despite having their first ‘What If’ world trip cut short by the mishap


	6. Stacie's Theory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, maybe Stacie was hopeful that even now Beca would find her way back to Chloe, she always does, and she’s never failed before, so why fail now?  
> That’s how Stacie developed her theory anyways. 
> 
> She thinks that because Beca can’t stand being away from Chloe for that long, she’ll keep coming back. That Beca was just somewhere around the hospital watching over her until she can get back to her own body.
> 
> Granted Beca walked out during their argument, but Beca always walks out, and when she comes back she always has a bag of Chloe’s favorite candies, or a bottle of her favorite wine with a stack of DVDs of movies Chloe loved so that they can watch it together despite not loving movies herself. There was even a time when Beca had a mix ready just to apologize for whatever it was that she did.
> 
> Honestly, those two were practically dating without the perks of dating.

Stacie looked thoughtful as she took a bite from her pizza. She was eating lunch some place near the hospital with Aubrey who looked incredibly tired and exhausted. Jesse decided to stay and watch over Beca while Chloe went over to the Mitchell’s to get some rest.

Aubrey was going on and on about what had happened with Beca the night before, and Stacie couldn’t help but let her mind run wild to try to piece things together and make sense of it.

“And why haven’t any of you told me that Beca broke up with Jesse? I had to hear it from the Treble himself.” she heard Aubrey say, finally pulling Stacie out of her reverie.

“Huh, what? Oh, yeah. They broke up and had this fight but Jesse kept dodging the question of what the fight was about.” Stacie explained.

“Well apparently Jesse was trying to convince Beca to just face the music. And by face the music, I mean face her feelings for Chloe. Jesse thinks she’s in love with her.” Stacie gaped at Aubrey with this tidbit of information. The former Bella captain looked perplexed as to why the leggy brunette wasn’t squealing from joy or something like that. That would have been the expected response. After all, they’ve been waiting for that to happen for what seems like forever ago.

They may or may not have a bet going on about it too, and with the pool only getting bigger over the years, they had a lot riding on it too. So yeah, ecstatic and excited would have been the appropriate reaction.

And that would have been Stacie’s response, if things didn’t start clicking in her mind.

“You said Beca was crying last night even though she was still in a coma.” she absentmindedly said as Aubrey’s brows furrowed. Never the less, the blonde reconfirmed her earlier statement. Stacie hummed in response.

“Conrad, what’s going on in that brain of yours?” Aubrey asked before she lost Stacie to her thoughts again.

“What if Beca’s, well, aware of what’s going on? But it’s like, she’s having an out of body experience of sorts. What if she’s sad that she can see Chloe suffering but trying to be strong?”

“I don’t follow.” Aubrey answered truthfully.

“What if, for some brief moment, she connected to her body? What if spirit Beca was crying? Oh gosh, What if spirit Beca’s here right now following us?” Stacie said before waving her hands through thin air.

Aubrey sighed. “You had me going there for a second Stacie. But if Beca’s really conscious or something, spirit or not, why won’t she just jump back in her body?”

“Maybe she can’t!” Stacie said a tad bit dramatically. “What if she’s literally fighting death, you know?”

Aubrey took a sip of her soda. “Yep, you’ve lost me completely Stace.”

“Oh, I know it’s all supernatural Bree, but would you just open your mind to it a little? Do you even know what happens to a person with a coma? What they experience and all that?”

Aubrey shook her head. “No, but I’m pretty sure Beca going head to head with big old scary Death is the last thing on the list of possibilities.”

“And what if it isn’t? Care to make a wager?” Stacie asked 

“I’m pretty sure we have too many bets going on and a ludicrously big pool of money still waiting to be claimed.”

“Well this is just between us.” Stacie butted in before Aubrey could make any more arguments to why she would say no.

Aubrey simply glared back at the mischievous look in Stacie’s eyes before she groaned. “Fine. But that munchkin better wake up soon so we can settle this once and for all.”

~~

Stacie made her way back to the hospital, with a cup of coffee in hand for when Chloe gets back. Aubrey told her that Chloe couldn’t stay away from Beca for longer than a few hours. And Stacie couldn’t help but agree.

They never really could spend that much time away from each other.

Looking back, Chloe was always with Beca, and Beca was always with Chloe. Even Jesse agreed that the two were inseparable.

Chloe would always keep Beca to stay after Bellas practice to work on choreography, Beca would always run into Chloe’s room whenever she finishes a new mix. Heck the tiny DJ would even let Chloe use her precious headphones – which all Bellas knew were hands off if they wanted to keep their lives.

Chloe would always drop by the radio station, bringing Beca food when she has a late night duty, Beca always drags her off to go studying whenever Chloe’s got another exam for Russian Lit. 

The Bellas were no fools either. They could tell, no matter how much Chloe loved being a Bella, they knew she loved being with Beca more, and she’ll keep sticking around for no matter how long if it meant she could spends some more time with the brunette.

At parties they dance together and stick to each other’s side, even when Beca disappears for a few minutes to spend some time with her actual boyfriend. But she always returns, she keeps coming back to Chloe.

So yeah, maybe Stacie was hopeful that even now Beca would find her way back to Chloe, she always does, and she’s never failed before, so why fail now? 

That’s how Stacie developed her theory anyways. 

She thinks that because Beca can’t stand being away from Chloe for that long, she’ll keep coming back. That Beca was just somewhere around the hospital watching over her until she can get back to her own body.

Granted Beca walked out during their argument, but Beca always walks out, and when she comes back she always has a bag of Chloe’s favorite candies, or a bottle of her favorite wine with a stack of DVDs of movies Chloe loved so that they can watch it together despite not loving movies herself. There was even a time when Beca had a mix ready just to apologize for whatever it was that she did.

Honestly, those two were practically dating without the perks of dating.

And as if to prove Stacie right, the redhead was already there, in her chair, watching over Beca. Stacie was about to walk in to give hand Chloe her coffee but there was something about the scene in front of her that she just couldn’t barge in.

Stacie decided to hang back for a few minutes, still standing by the doorway but away from Chloe’s view. She could hear the redhead talking on and on in her usual bubbly tone.

“So anyways, that’s what happened. Bree was pretty much freaking out the whole night through, I’m also positive that she’s scared all the nurses on this floor. But tell me Becs, why were you crying last night? You have to wake up, okay? So you can tell me all about it later.”

Stacie was trying to stifle a few sniffles, she could tell from Chloe’s voice that she was trying so hard to be strong for her, to be strong for Beca and be there smiling when she wakes up. It must be really difficult for her though, to remain so optimistic despite all that’s happened.

“I don’t think I apologized yet, so, here it goes. I’m sorry for yelling at you Becs, sorry for being all mean and rude. You know I’m just, I don’t know, I guess I’m scared of what happens next. I can’t imagine what happens after all this, you know? When we face the real world, when we stop performing, stop being Bellas.” Chloe said, taking a pause as she fought back the tears. “Guess I was just scared. I was scared that if I moved on without waiting for you, that you’d forget about me.” Chloe paused again and Stacie could hear the cracks in her voice, the vulnerability in her words. She looks at Chloe from across Beca’s door, she was looking up, lips pressed tightly together, still fighting the tears. “I’m just afraid to face a life without you, okay? I don’t want to live life without you. So… you have to wake up… you’re going to wake up…” she said in between sobs.

Chloe was full on crying again when Stacie finally walked in, tears also trailing down her cheeks. She placed the cup of coffee on the bedside table and kneeled down to hug Chloe who immediately welcomed the embrace. 

Stacie could feel her shirt getting all wet from Chloe’s tears. She tried to soothe her the best she could. “She’ll wake up Chlo, don’t worry, she’ll wake up.”

Stacie wasn’t expecting it to be this tough, but it was. A few more minutes and Chloe was back to trying to be her cheery self. Stacie kept her company for a while until she had to leave for class, Amy taking over her shift.

As soon she was out the door and into the hallway she started looking around and talking quietly. “Beca, if you’re seeing this, you better get your ass back home to Chloe. She needs you to make it up to her, now more than ever.” 

Silence was the only thing that answered her. After a minute or two Stacie spoke up again. “We need you too.” she allowed herself to say.

Still nothing but silence.

But somehow Stacie knows she got her message across.


	7. Happy Childhood Me is Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yeah, well, in this world you are girly.” Death pointed out.
> 
> “Dude, no.” Beca replied, shaking her head in disapproval.
> 
> “And quite flirty too.”
> 
> “I resent that.”
> 
> “And you’re also bubbly, and cheerful, and incredibly enthusiastic.”
> 
> “No. Just no.”
> 
> “And you’re dating Luke.”
> 
> “What!?” Beca exclaimed and Death couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Dude! Do you really have to do your mystical mumbo jumbo thing without warning?” Beca complained. The scene from the hospital getting swallowed up into the light that shrouded them the moment it had settled down.

“We have places to see, or have you forgotten?” Death replied.

“No way, you totally owe me now. I didn’t even get any chance to completely get an understanding of what was going on.”

“If I tell you that Aubrey called you one of her dearest friends, would that appease you?” Death huffed and by the smug look on Beca’s face he could tell that it did. “Good, now come on.”

The light that surrounded them had fully dissipated when Beca realized they were standing in her old dorm room. “What are we doing here?’ she asked Death.

“This is your dorm room during you’re freshman year in Barden.” Death says pointedly.

“Really? Didn’t notice.” Beca grumbled as a reply.

“We’re here to answer one of your pressing questions. What if you never joined the Bellas, but in this case you do meet them.”

“What do you mean in this case?” Beca asks but before Death could answer her question the door to the dorm room bursts wide open and in comes the what if version of Beca wearing nothing but a bath towel, clearly coming back from the showers. She dropped the towel within minutes as she started getting ready.

Beca instantly jumped to cover Death’s eyes. “Uh, what are you doing Mitchell?” he asked.

“You’re too young for this squirt.” she replied quickly replied before she exclaimed when she saw the contents her closet.

What-If Beca walked out the dorm room, all nonchalant as she grabbed her things for class. “Why the hell is my closet all pink!?” she immediately lets out, letting go of Death and phasing through the closet door.

Death followed her with his eyes and with a wave of his hands opens the closet door to where Beca disappeared into, she looked dumb-struck and absolutely mortified.

Beca used to think that heaven and hell never really existed.

She was so wrong.

The incredibly frilly and pink closet in front of her proved to her that hell existed.

“Pink!” Beca gasped. “What’s with all the pink?”

“Oh, I see you’ve noticed your wardrobe. Well, in this world, you have a happy childhood.”

“So I wear pink! A lot of pink! Dude, no, this is too girly!”

“Yeah, well, in this world you are girly.” Death pointed out.

“Dude, no.” Beca replied, shaking her head in disapproval.

“And quite flirty too.”

“I resent that.”

“And you’re also bubbly, and cheerful, and incredibly enthusiastic.”

“No. Just no.”

“And you’re dating Luke.”

“What!?” Beca exclaimed and Death couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Okay, okay, so the last one was a lie.” Death said after Beca gave him a death glare. Beca chuckled at the thought of it, especially because it did get him to stop laughing. “You are dating Tom though.”

“The shower guy?” Beca screamed rather than calmly asked and Death nodded and he quickly pulled Beca out of the dorms and into the quad where Beca saw her pink-loving version strolling hand in hand with Tom the shower guy. She heard Death let out a chuckle while she kept shaking her head saying “Gross” over and over again.

“And how does Chloe feel about all of this?” Beca asked and Death hummed.

“I’m glad you asked.” He said before everything in front of them shifted and the scene before them changes. They were in the Bellas rehearsal space and Beca could hear Chloe’s endless complaints about this reality's Beca. From her conversation with the Aubrey before her, she pretty much gathered that they hated each other.

“This is all twisted.” Beca let out as a comment and Death couldn’t help but agree. They sat down as they watched the Bellas start cardio. The white haired boy was about to say something when he sneezed all of a sudden.

“I didn’t know that you get the sniffles.” Beca said.

“I don’t.” Death replied. “But it seems some of your friends are talking about you fighting me.”

“How do you know that? Actually, hang on, how do you know what Aubrey said about me too?”

“I’m still keeping tabs on what’s happening around the real world. You’re not the only one in a coma in a hospital you know. Matter of fact, hospitals are the busiest places of work for me. Too many souls to gather.”

“And you where do you keep all of them? Where do you take them?”

“To their individual paradise. They’re all in my pockets, and they’ll be there until we finish our little trip.”

“So how about the other souls questioning life and death right now?”

“Surprisingly, you’re the only one at the moment. Most people have the common sense to fight for their lives.” Death commented and Beca simply quirked her lips to one side not having any response ready.

The pair sat through rehearsals and Beca was glad to know that Aubrey was actually listening to everyone else’s suggestions.

“Okay, so, again, they seem to be getting along fine. Even better than I expected. And other than the nightmarish version of me – that I won’t be able to forget by the way, thank you very much – what you’re showing me is simply telling me that everyone’s better off without me joining the Bellas in the first place.”

“Not exactly.” Death tells Beca as she stood up. He offered his hand to the DJ and they soon found themselves in the quad, activities fair of their sophomore year.

Beca finds herself standing in front of the Trebles table yet again. “The Trebles win, of course the Trebles win.” she says, throwing her hands up in the air in resignation. “What else?”

Death points at Amy and Stacie, the new co-captains of the Bellas, as they recruit new members. The evil-pink-loving version of Beca walks past by them and bumps into the two new co-captains, trouble starts to brew between them and Jesse steps in to save the day. He starts to calm Stacie and they walk hand in hand away from the booth, Beca’s other version walking towards a different direction.

“What did I do? And is this Stacie dating Jesse?”

Death nods. “You see, the Bellas lose Nationals because of this version of you. You dump Tom, and play Chloe’s heart before dumping her and then try hitting on Aubrey. Aubrey and Chloe fight because of you and you simply deny anything and everything, which tears the Bellas apart a bit. Chloe moves to LA after graduation, Aubrey to New York…”

“I still inadvertently ruin their friendship. Well, the last time I wasn’t even existing to do it. Is this your way of saying that because I had the ‘happy childhood’ I never had, I become this selfish bi-“

“Language Mitchell.” Death interjected before Beca groaned.

“You will never let that go, huh?”

“Nope, but yes, you are right. Sometimes the happiness we yearn for actually turns out to be superficial. So yeah, your parents didn’t separate but you always got your way, they gave you everything to distract you from the cracks that they didn’t want you to see, and it made you feel empty. As for Chloe and Aubrey, you end up breaking their friendship, mostly because you end up causing so much damage. Oh, and Chloe doesn’t get her nodes removed when she was supposed to, again, but she does after graduation. She loses some of her range but it wasn’t as bad as the last reality.”

“I won’t ever do that to Chloe.” Beca said adamantly.

“You really did love her, you just couldn’t believe that she actually fell for you either, after all the business with Tom. Music still brings the two of you together, but you never get too into music though. You’re not into the whole DJ business, and you could care less for acapella, but Chloe was starting to make you care, and you start to lose arguments, you don’t always get your way anymore. So you did what you could do, afraid that you love her more than she could ever love you, you hurt her. You wanted to prove that you can hurt her more than she can ever hurt you.”

“That’s stupid.” Beca immediately replied.

“Yeah well, this version of you isn’t my favorite either.”

“And Aubrey? Really?"

“Oh, well, Posen doesn’t fall for it and calls you out on it. But you know, mean girl Beca is mean so she twisted the truth around.”

Beca felt sick to her stomach with the version of herself she just saw. “Why are you even showing me this?”

“You asked if the Bellas would be better off with you not joining them. It just so happens that the only way for you to not join the Bellas but still meet them is this.”

“Take me away from here, I don’t like this place.” she simply said as she nudged Death.

“Well, we do have a different version of you that never gets to meet the Bellas to visit, so if you’re ready, we can go.” Death said.

“Please tell me it would be better than this.”

“It is, actually. I can at least promise you that nothing bad happens to Chloe in that reality.”

Beca looks at Death suspiciously. “Why do I have a feeling that there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere?”

“Because there is, but you’ll only know the answer if you’re willing to see it.”

“Let’s go then.” Beca replied, ready to see what else lies ahead.


	8. Amy's Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s kinda hard seeing shorty like this, you know? But I know her, she’s Beca Effin’ Mitchell, if anyone’s going to pull through this, it would be her.” Amy said and Jesse agreed.
> 
> The two of them settled back down on their usual spot outside Beca’s room. They stayed in silence for a few minutes before Jesse spoke up. “I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow though. It kinda’ scares me. The doctors said that from day one that what happens within the next three days would determine what’s going to happen to Beca. The 72 hours are almost up, and I honestly don’t know what to think.”
> 
> “So that’s why the ginger’s been on edge. Time’s almost up.” Amy absentmindedly said.
> 
> “Yeah, time’s almost up. We’re getting our answers soon.” Jesse then said, nervously tapping his foot.

Like pretty much everything that involves any bets made regarding Beca and Chloe, the Bellas found out about Aubrey and Stacie’s bet about what Beca’s doing while she’s in a coma.

Amy knows it doesn’t make any sense. She knows it of course. But it still ends up putting a smile on her face to know that they’re betting on this.

Because to find out the truth of what comatose Beca was doing, Beca had to first wake up.

And all her friends were betting on her waking up, that's all they could do to grasp at something to hold on to.

All they could do to keep the hope alive.

They also did a whole update on their bet about Beca and Chloe’s relationship. 

Lilly thinks Beca’s going to go critical and Chloe’s going to declare her undying love for Beca. After she flat lines and all hope is lost Beca will come back to them, open her eyes and declare undying love to Chloe.

Emily didn’t like the whole almost dying part of that process. She thinks that Beca’s going to tell Chloe on stage after their performance for the Worlds.

The rest of the Bellas loved the idea about the Worlds but didn’t agree with Emily’s timing. Flo placed her bet on backstage after they perform. Jessica and Ashley agreed on backstage before they perform, and they also bet on the both of them just simultaneously spilling the beans.

Aubrey disagreed. She made a bet on Chloe telling Beca how she felt after Beca wakes up and she’s no longer in danger. Maybe during her recovery process.

Cynthia Rose thinks that the two won’t get it together until after the Worlds, during their victory party.

Jesse joined in and made a bet that after Beca wakes up, she’ll tell Chloe herself and stop wasting time. Just simply say it out and stuff. Amy liked Jesse’s idea and went with it. It helped that the two of them were strangely bonding while watching movies on Netflix on Jesse’s phone whenever they were at the hospital together.

He may be rubbing off on her juts a little.

Amy was currently the one with the list of the bets, and Jesse was the only one Aubrey trusted enough to keep the ever growing pool. They had the two things safely stashed in Jesse’s backpack as they headed to the hospital to relieve Jessica and Ashley from keeping Chloe’s company.

“How’s the ginger doing today?” Amy asked Jesse. She knew he kept dropping bay during the day in between his own classes.

“She’s hanging in there.” Jessica breathed out.

“And our beloved shorty?” she pressed on. 

“Hanging in there.” Ashley replied.

Amy could swear that the whole hospital floor where Beca was on were already used to the crazy shenanigans that the Bellas would get themselves into whenever they visited the DJ given the short time they’ve been there so far. She’s also certain they have grown to fear both Aubrey and Chloe – because who knew the redheaded ball of sunshine could even be scarier than the Aca-Nazi herself sometimes – that they’ve been ignoring the current flare up coming out of Beca’s room. Amy and Jesse both rushed in to see Chloe single-handedly throwing the Kommissar out of Beca’s room. Height difference included – because that as one tall German – Amy was incredibly impressed. 

Jesse slumped down his backpack somewhere near Chloe’s own bag as he and Amy entered the room looking both equally in awe of Chloe. 

“You do not get to visit Beca! How do I know you’re not here to spy on her or wish her ill?” Chloe said as she once again ripped a mean looking Teddy Bear in half, throwing it at the tall blonde who was immediately backing her out the door.

“I really do wish her well.” the German said.

“Then wish her well someplace else!” 

As soon as the she-wolf leader of DSM left Amy walked over to pick up the halved teddy bear. “Damn red, how many stuff toys do you intend to murder?”

Chloe huffed and slumped down back on her chair. “Okay, so maybe I got a little out of hand.” Chloe started to say and Jesse chuckled.

“You’re jealous of her, aren’t you? Especially with how she gets Beca all flustered. I saw their little interaction during our last riff-off.” Jesse said which earned him a glare from Chloe before the redhead rolled her eyes.

“Maybe.” she sighed. “Hey Jess, did you get the pack of chocolates I asked you for? Those usually keep me calm.”

“Yeah Chlo, they’re in my pack, you can just- ” Jesse started to say while he helped Amy clean up the fluffy remains of the stuffed toy. Amy nudged her to shut him up, her eyes wild and concerned. It wasn’t until Chloe hummed out loud that both Amy and Jesse slowly turned around.

“What is this?” Chloe asked in a singsong manner as she waved the piece of paper that listed down the Bellas current bets. Amy didn’t think it was possible but the calmness in Chloe’s voice terrified her even more than the screaming version of angry Chloe. She turned to look at the Treble who looked even more terrified than she was.

“Well Jesse, I think that’s my cue to get you guys some coffee.” she said before quickly taking off leaving the Treble behind to deal with Chloe.

Amy was probably gone for a good fifteen or twenty minutes before she made her way back to Beca’s room. During her time away she had managed to update the Bellas about Chloe discovering the bets. So far, everyone else was radio silent, probably contemplating on what to do next and how to deal with the still highly emotional redhead.

If she were being honest, she was surprised to see Jesse still alive and in one piece when she came back to the room. But somehow seeing Aubrey seating on the other plastic chair available in the room right next to Chloe explained seeing Jesse still alive.

“What’s up pitches? Missed me? Here’s the coffee you all didn’t ask for.” Amy said, bursting into the room like nothing happened earlier. 

“So, we’re busted, huh?” the Australian asked. She relaxed as soon as she saw Chloe grinning, it was definitely worth all the possible trouble that the list would have caused just to see the redhead smile like her old self again, even if it was just for a while.

“I should seriously be mad at this.” Chloe said after a few minutes of silence. “But I think it’s sweet you guys are rooting for us, and I think it’s sweet that you guys are rooting for Beca to wake up soon.” she was starting to get all teary eyed again and so before the waterworks started Amy excused herself, pulling on Jesse to keep him company.

“You okay?” Jesse asked and Amy nodded. So far, out of all the Bellas, Amy was the one who still managed to fight back the tears.

“It’s kinda hard seeing shorty like this, you know? But I know her, she’s Beca Effin’ Mitchell, if anyone’s going to pull through this, it would be her.” Amy said and Jesse agreed.

The two of them settled back down on their usual spot outside Beca’s room. They stayed in silence for a few minutes before Jesse spoke up. “I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow though. It kinda’ scares me. The doctors said that from day one that what happens within the next three days would determine what’s going to happen to Beca. The 72 hours are almost up, and I honestly don’t know what to think.”

“So that’s why the ginger’s been on edge. Time’s almost up.” Amy absentmindedly said.

“Yeah, time’s almost up. We’re getting our answers soon.” Jesse then said, nervously tapping his foot.

“Do you have any uplifting movie in that library of yours Swanson? Because I need me some uplifting.” Amy commented and Jesse smiled in response, the two instantly getting back into their routine as they awaited for Beca to come back to them.


	9. Without You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Because you were wondering what would happen if they were real. Some things are meant to happen Beca, and trying to avoid them lead to less the pleasant results. The thing is, life isn’t perfect, we don’t always get what we want; we don’t always have those fabricated happy endings you hate so much. Sometimes you have to weather many storms, and maybe sometimes it’s too much to bare. But we take whatever we can get. And that doesn’t mean you should quit, that doesn’t mean things would be better without you. The things that have happened so far in your life happened because they were supposed to, it may have led to you being in a coma, and being in the crossroads you are now in, but they were supposed to happen.”
> 
> Beca nodded, her breathing returning to normal. Some parts of what he said she understood, some parts she just didn’t pay much attention to, but Death continued his little lecture. “The thing is Mitchell, with or without you, you affect the lives of the Bellas in some way or form. You guys are tied together by something greater than what you can comprehend.”

“Bella’s rehearsals?” Beca asked looking confused as she looked back at Death who nodded in agreement.

“Yep, this is after they find out they’re back in the running for Nationals, and unlike the last two worlds we’ve visited, Chloe gets her nodes removed right on schedule.”

Beca watched as the Bellas rehearsal space is slowly filled by her friends. Aubrey and Chloe were the last ones in and they keep discussing something in hushed tones before Chloe makes a gesture to Aubrey and the blonde sighs in resignation.

Aubrey moves closer to the rest of the Bellas and apologizes for the way she’s been treating them. There was a bit of a discussion that followed and a heart to heart session of confessing things they were uncomfortable about. Beca smiled. It felt like it was like it should be, even without her.

Okay, so maybe she was a little sad about that bit of information, but still, her friends were whole as a group. They were being a family. And Aubrey and Chloe were okay. Most specially Chloe.

“So I guess they don’t really need me after all.” Beca said and Death looked at her a little exasperated.

“How many times do you need me to tell you that you are wrong? Maybe you’re not here, maybe you never meet them, but you’re the one that brings them together.” Death explained.

“What do you mean?” Beca asks and Death points her to Chloe who connects her phone to some sort of portable speaker.

“So anyways, Aubrey and I have been talking. I discovered this really amazing DJ who’s been making mixes of really popular songs. She’s only getting started but radio stations everywhere have been playing her stuff, and I was wondering, maybe we can do something like what she’s doing.”

Beca waited with abated breath, Death didn’t need to tell her out loud that the DJ Chloe was talking about was her. Titanium starts to play from the speakers, seamlessly mixing with Bulletproof. Beca laughed a little upon hearing Titanium play, of course Chloe would discover through that song.

The song starts to fade until a mix of Just the Way You Are and Just a Dream starts playing. “Hey!” Beca exclaims and then smiles. 

“Some things are meant to happen Mitchell.” Death speaks up. 

“So I’m currently in LA?” Beca asks Death to make sure she was right. The rest of the Bellas in front of her enjoying the mix they’re hearing. They start picking up on them and they slowly transformed into the Bellas that Beca had always known.

“Yes, and being successful too.” Death said before waving his hands. The scene in front of them started to change which elicited an annoyed “Hey!” from Beca.

They were suddenly in Lincoln Center for Nationals and Beca watched as the Bellas lit up the stage with their performance.

Beca was beaming proudly when the Bellas were announced as winners. “Told you they needed me.” Beca said smugly and Death scoffed.

“Tell yourself that Mitchell, you’re the only one who thinks they don’t need you.”

“Well technically, they really didn’t need me on the team. They still won without me.” Beca argued and Death sighed.

“Why are you making this difficult for me? Every single time we make some semblance of progress you just have to take a few steps back.”

“The Bellas will be fine without me.” Beca said sadly.

“Again, no.” Death said flatly. “After two years, you become a big musical producer. Aubrey gets a job in LA and she shares a flat with Chloe. But, without you, and yes even Chloe, staying with the Bellas they have trouble staying on top. You’re the one who’s innovative with your self-brand of musical prowess and without that, they struggle to stay on top, becoming a little too complacent with the simple mash-ups they perform. They don’t have your touch to tweak it a bit and make it stand out. They don’t have music flowing through their veins like you do, Beca.”

“Well, thanks for inflating my ego little dude. But everyone’s doing fine, even I’m doing fine in LA. They don’t need me to stay.”

Death groaned and Beca made a mental note to herself to try and avoid that from him. The sound he made was insanely inhuman and incredibly scary that it freaked her out.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop the whole ‘they don’t need me speech’.” Beca then said. “Do we have anymore stops?”

“Yes, actually. We’re going to LA, four years later.”

Death takes Beca to what looked like Aubrey and Chloe’s apartment. They spend most of the time tailing Chloe, because yes, even when Beca doesn’t want to admit it, she’s curious of what Chloe’s life would have turned out to be if they never met.

Apparently the version of Chloe they were following was also in graduate school at UCLA. She was dating a nice guy – Beca couldn’t care less to even note what’s his face’s name – but for as long as he treated Chloe right, that was all that mattered to her.

Chloe was sitting at a bench somewhere in a park, sipping on a cup of coffee as she waited for what’s his face and Beca could start to feel something bad was going to happen. “You said nothing bad was going to happen to Chloe, right?”

“Nothing bad is going to happen to Chloe.” Death reconfirmed. “But she may or may not be placed in some sort of dangerous situation.” he added.

“You little twerp! You just said nothing bad was going to happen!” Beca protested.

And of course she had to call Death a twerp again.

Seriously, who in their right minds would insult Death, regardless of his tiny and innocent looking packaging?

Beca suddenly sees her father walking in the park, heading towards the path where Chloe’s bench was. The two of them recognize each other and chat a bit. That was when Dr. Mitchell started talking about his daughter and how he’s been trying to reach out to her.

It hits Beca that without attending Barden, without meeting Chloe or joining the Bellas, she never gets to fix her relationship with her father.

And she realizes that life without Chloe, without the Bellas, was just as lonely and incomplete as how their lives would be if she never existed or if she never meets them.

Chloe stands after receiving a text from her boyfriend to meet someplace closer to his office, noting how late it was, Dr. Mitchell offered to walk her there. They continue to talk about Beca, Chloe telling him how her mixes actually helped the Barden Bellas win Nationals during her senior year and Dr. Mitchell being proud. As Chloe proceeds to walk away, the café near her boyfriend’s office only about a block away, some guys runs towards her and tries to snatch her purse. 

Dr. Mitchel tries to save the day… 

…only to fail…

…only to get stabbed and bleed to death.

Before Beca could scream, stop, or react violently at the scene, Death pulls her away. The scene shifts and she’s in come fancy penthouse suite. They were in this world’s Beca’s empty apartment.

“So you’re telling me… you’re trying to show me…” Beca says in between sobs, Death trying to desperately to calm her down, reminding her of what might happen if she gets too emotional.

“This is just a construct, a world that deviates from reality. Your father’s soul isn’t in my pockets. But this world is still on a separate plane of existence, so calm down.” Death tells Beca, and the DJ started taking deep breaths to do exactly that.

“I don’t get to reconcile with my dad. I don’t mend my relationship with him. I miss out on meeting Chloe. And the most tragic of all is how incredibly tied up our lives are even when we don’t meet.” Beca said out loud, trying to process the situation. “Why are you showing me these twisted realities?”

“Because you were wondering what would happen if they were real. Some things are meant to happen Beca, and trying to avoid them lead to less than pleasant results. The thing is, life isn’t perfect, we don’t always get what we want; we don’t always have those fabricated happy endings you hate so much. Sometimes you have to weather many storms, and maybe sometimes it’s too much to bare. But we take whatever we can get. And that doesn’t mean you should quit, that doesn’t mean things would be better without you. The things that have happened so far in your life happened because they were supposed to, it may have led to you being in a coma, and being in the crossroads you are now in, but they were supposed to happen.”

Beca nodded, her breathing returning to normal. Some parts of what he said she understood, some parts she just didn’t pay much attention to, but Death continued his little lecture. “The thing is Mitchell, with or without you, you affect the lives of the Bellas in some way or form. You guys are tied together by something greater than what you can comprehend.”

“Okay, fine. But couldn’t you have warned me about that?” Beca snapped.

“You needed to see to understand. Maybe you get everything you wanted, everything you asked for in this world, but you never find the things you never even knew you needed. And you’re right, there lies the tragedy.”

“For a little guy, you sure are wise.”

“Making fun of my height again now, aren’t we?”

“So what’s next?” Beca asked with some trepidation. She was wishing for no more of the twisted worlds from questioning the past, she’s convinced that she had to meet the Bellas, to be in their lives, and to have them in hers.

Death holds his hands up as he looked like he was trying to feel for something. “We need to get back. I have a few souls to pick up, then we continue our journey.”

“Okay, that sounds fair.” Beca replied before once again being shrouded by Death’s light.


	10. Cynthia Rose's Proposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betting on something incredibly stupid as Beca meeting the actual personification of death was a little bit out of this world, and betting on her confessing her feelings for Chloe was a bit of long stretch, but that was all they could do. And Cynthia Rose knew that.
> 
> They had to cope somehow,
> 
> And all they could do is look towards a positive future, one that doesn’t include the other inevitable possibility, just so that they can move.
> 
> So was it selfish? Yes, absolutely, without a doubt.
> 
> Highly illogical? That’s true too.
> 
> But human? Definitely.
> 
> Why? Because it hurts. It hurts so much to be reminded that there are some things we can’t control, some outcomes we can’t erase. And it hurts, to lose someone who you never even knew could mean so much to you, whether it be a loved one or a friend.

They were all playing the waiting game. The “will Beca’s condition improve or worsen” game. All the Bellas were betting on the “improve” side, with none of them betting on the “worsen”.

And maybe that’s why Cynthia Rose ended up decking one of the Treble’s in the face when he asked how the Bellas intend to win the Worlds without Beca.

Okay, so maybe she might have taken it the bad way. He could have meant “what if Beca was still in recovery during the worlds”, right?

But that was a heavy what if. 

That’s the thing, Cynthia Rose doesn’t like that what if. She wanted to focus on the positive what if only. The “what if Beca suddenly wakes up this moment” what if. The “what should we do to make her see how much we support her for a speedy recovery” what if.

The “what if we lose her” what if and anything related to that is tucked somewhere within the deep recesses of her mind. 

The thought popped up in her head, yes, but she doesn’t like it.

No, not one bit.

And clearly the sentiments were shared by the other Bellas too. Even when there was a part of them that knew the other possibility, the negative “what if”.

Betting on something incredibly stupid as Beca meeting the actual personification of death was a little bit out of this world, and betting on her confessing her feelings for Chloe was a bit of long stretch, but that was all they could do. And Cynthia Rose knew that.

They had to cope somehow,

And all they could do is look towards a positive future, one that doesn’t include the other inevitable possibility, just so that they can move.

So was it selfish? Yes, absolutely, without a doubt.

Highly illogical? That’s true too.

But human? Definitely.

Why? Because it hurts. It hurts so much to be reminded that there are some things we can’t control, some outcomes we can’t erase. And it hurts, to lose someone who you never even knew could mean so much to you, whether it be a loved one or a friend. 

So sometimes, when we’re grasping at straws, we tend to side with the irrational

Sometimes, at the face of tragedy, we don’t always have a logical mind.

We revert back to wishful thinking, to selfish dreams, and we cling onto the impossible because maybe, just maybe, the impossible would happen.

Some stay stuck in a standstill, not being able to move forward, some accept the pain of the result they try to avoid, the negative outcome, others pray to whatever deity they believe in, and others… they cling onto that impossible hope.

Because aren’t all humans a little selfish sometimes?

So that’s why they’re focusing on the tomorrow they want to happen, that was the only thing they could do to still move forward.

And if that tomorrow never comes, then they’ll just have to face the storm together.

But for as long as there is hope, then that’s what they’ll focus on.

And as for the bets, it’s not about winning. It was about focusing on the thought that Beca would wake up soon, and she’d get a shot at happiness with Chloe.

It was their way of fighting. It wasn’t much, and didn’t make complete sense, but that was all they could do.

So that’s why Cynthia Rose found herself gathering the Bellas in their rehearsal space some time after lunch. Amy had just left with Jesse to go see Beca and relieve Jessica and Ashley from their duty. The two other Bellas planned to catch up to their emergency meeting as soon as possible, but Lilly already had Ashley – or was it Jessica? – on FaceTime while the other one was driving so that they don’t miss much.

“Alright guys! So you know how our captains are still out of commission, and how we’re all counting on our resident badass DJ to be waking up soon, right? I was thinking, it would be nice if we did something to show how much we actually appreciate Beca.”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Emily immediately piped up. 

“So Legacy, let’s start with you then, any ideas?” Stacie asked, jumping in the conversation.

“Well, I was thinking, we can perform the song – ” Emily started to say before Stacie decided to cut in.

“Other than performing your song. You know, something that won’t remind Beca of the Worlds yet, when she wakes up, or performing, so that she can focus on getting better first.” 

Emily was about to say something when she felt her phone buzzing. “Hold that thought.” she said before her eyes widened in a mixture of shock and fear. 

“What’s up Legacy?” Cynthia Rose asked.

“We are so dead.” Emily replied, holding her phone up to the rest of the Bellas so that they can read Amy’s text.

 

CODE GINGER! RED FOUND OUT ABOUT THE BETS! VOLUNTEERED SWANSON AS TRIBUTE. WILL CHECK J’S STATUS LATER N UPDATE YOU ALL. IT’S PROBABLY TOO LATE FOR ME, BUT SAVE YOURSELVES, ESPECIALLY LEGACY. SOMEONE NEEDS TO LIVE TO TELL THE TALE…

 

The next five to ten minutes or so were spent in utter panic before Stacie decided to call Aubrey, who had decided to bunk up with the Bellas in their house while Beca was still in the hospital so that she can be near enough to respond to any Beca or Chloe related emergencies. 

Everyone agreed that this qualifies as one.

“Alright, Bree’s on her way to check on Chloe and hopefully calm her down if she’s all on edge about it.” Stacie declared just before Jessica and Ashley came bursting through the doors of the rehearsal space, ending the FaceTime call.

Cynthia Rose tried to take command of the situation after that. 

“Legacy, you were saying?”

“Oh, right, I was thinking we can probably start planning for the Worlds with Aubrey’s help. Get Chloe to make some progress academically speaking. Find some of Beca’s good mixes to send to her boss in her internship, I heard from Benji who heard from Jesse that she’s been having a hard time with it, you know. We have to remind Beca about everything that makes her awesome and at the same time, check off some of her worries on her list.”

“That is actually a good idea, good job Legacy.” Cynthia Rose said, giving her approval.

“I can take care of Chloe’s lack of scholastic achievements. It’s no big problem.” Jessica volunteered.

“And I think both Legacy and Lilly are up to the challenge for Beca’s internship worries.” Stacie chimed in and Lilly said something about hacking the DJ’s computer… or possibly something like she’s already hacked it and that she already has the files… no one’s ever really sure what Lilly says…

“Cool, I’ll talk to Aubrey about the World’s then.” Ashley said.

“Let me help with that. I’m part of the international students organization and a lot of them are acapella fans, I’m sure they can help us scope out and gather information from our competition.” Flo jumped in.

“I thought you were going to say something about sometime another remotely unconnected thing happened to one of your relatives.” Ashley replied. “But I do appreciate the help.” she then added as Flo was about to actually jump in with one of her usual anecdotes.

“Well that pretty much takes care of everything, unless you have any other ideas CR? It’s not fun to have no assignments.”

“This isn’t ‘Mission Impossible’ Stace.” Cynthia Rose replied. “I do have an idea of sorts, if you’d help me.”

“Cool, what’s it about?”

“Well, since we’re already busted and hence all bets are off, I figured we can do something to help Beca and Chloe along in the romance department?” Cynthia Rose asked and Stacie immediately shouted her approval.

Before the two started formulating a plan and bouncing ideas of the Bellas, Emily got a series of text messages. “It’s from Amy again.” she said, turning her phone over to Stacie who showed the message to the other Bellas.

 

Fearless Leader has handled the situation! I REPEAT! FEARLESS LEADER HAS HANDLED THE SITCH! Treble X is alive. I’M ALSO ALIVE!!!

…Chloe demands the pool money though…

BECA N DEATH BET = A GIFT FOR OUR TINY DJ 

BHLOE BET = WHOEVER GETS IT RIGHT GET’s 10% of POOL MONEY + RED AND SHORTY GETS TO GO ON A DATE SPONSORED BY US

Be thankful you didn’t get to hear her sad “If that even happens…” speech

It would pull on your heartstrings and use that as instruments for sad accompaniment music :’(

She does thank us for supporting them ;)

…Aaaand we’re punished with extra rounds of cardio for practice when they resume for “corrupting” Legacy :/

I blame you for getting in on the bets Legacy, you should’ve known better

AMY OUT!

 

“Well then, at least we get to live another day.” Jessica commented.

“Not with the extra cardio.” Ashley complained.

“Ugh! Why does she insist on calling them ‘Bhloe’! It should be Bechloe!” Stacie groaned.

“That’s what you’re focusing on, Stace? Really?” Cynthia Rose looked at her amused.

“Guess that takes care of the ‘romantic gesture plan’.” Emily added.

“Wrong Legacy! We can handle the date when it happens. But we can at least do something special for those two when Beca’s in recovery.” Stacie argued.

Cynthia Rose smiled, they certainly clinging on to that tiny spark of hope. “I think I have an idea.”


	11. Mid-Coma Crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death snapped his fingers, and Beca thought that snapping as loudly as he just did could never be possible in real life.
> 
> It didn’t even take seconds when the monotonous beeping sounds made by the machines hooked up to her corporeal body started going crazy, beeping faster and faster.
> 
> That seemed to snap Beca back to reality as her attention immediately fell upon the scene happening inside her room. Chloe stood up without warning, immediately reaching out to Beca’s body, Aubrey running frantically out of Beca’s room to call for help. Jesse and Amy, and the rest of the Bellas flooded in through the room, Amy clicking the help button as rapidly as she could to help Aubrey get help fast.
> 
> “What the hell is happening? What’s going on?” Beca demanded.
> 
> “You’re having a cardiac arrest.” Death answered a little too coolly that it unsettled her.

“Stay here and don’t move, simple enough for you Mitchell?” Death asked as he positioned Beca to stand outside her room explaining that he had to go and do his job.

“Where you headed Shorty?” Beca asked Death.

And as much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to understand how much fun her friends had when they teased her about her…

…nope, not going there…

Death squirmed a little upon hearing Beca’s question. “The saddest floor on the hospital.”

Beca was about to ask which floor but the answer hit her like…

…nope, also not going there…

…she was just about to compare it to what happened to her…

Beca sighed. Guess she’d be steering clear of witticism for a little while.

She watched as Death walked down the hall, away from her room, before disappearing.

Beca was standing a good thirty minutes – okay, maybe it was more like five – before she got bored with just standing there, facing away from her room. Death said that she needed to avoid any contact with herself, just in case she decides to do something “unfortunate”.

He didn’t, however, clarify what “unfortunate” meant. But he did say that Chloe was inside with Aubrey, probably tired from everything that’s happened.

So Beca figured, if she didn’t leave the floor, and for as long as she doesn’t rush into her own room, that qualifies as staying put, right?

Right?

The answer would have been no, not right, her assumption was dead wrong, but Beca chose to ignore that answer.

So she decided to roam around the floor she was on. If she had stayed put, she would have overheard Amy and Jesse’s conversation. She would have seen Aubrey come out of the room with Chloe’s conditions on the bets before asking to find where the chocolates Chloe’s been asking for was actually hidden in Jesse’s bag. Yep, she would have found out about the bet.

And she didn’t know that Death didn’t want her to find out about that, because Death wanted her to realize that she should live on her own and through their journey, that she should stop wasting seconds and opportunities by being afraid or second guessing, that she should fight for Chloe because life is too short to miss the chance and live with only regrets and ‘What Ifs’.

Finding out about what her friends were doing while Beca was in a coma can come later, when he was sure that he’s made his point clear to the DJ.

But, even though Beca was starting to understand what Death was trying to say, she was still missing the entire point of it.

Mostly because she still has trouble letting her walls down completely to let herself feel, to let herself live.

So instead she walked through the halls of the hospital, missing the truth that was right in front of her.

She finds her dad somewhere near the lounge by the guest elevators, from the sound of it he was talking to the step-monster.

Something about fixing her room up a little more and packing some old stuff so there’s room.

She didn’t hear what the whole conversation was about – which if she decided to stick around she would have found out that it was to make space for some of Chloe’s things so that they can make it feel more at home for the distraught redhead who was using the DJ’s old room when she needed to rest, at least while Beca was still in the hospital.

Instead, Beca thought that they were already planning to give her stuff away.

Don’t ever jump to conclusions without hearing the whole truth is a good lesson to learn from here folks.

Beca storms back to where Amy and Jesse were now seated. She sees them watching a good comedy film and laughing and sharing some jokes between them. Which should be fine for the moment until Amy gets a text about the Bellas coming over soon. She decided to let Jesse read the rest of the message and Beca heard him say something about Bellas practices.

Beca, of course, doesn’t get the chance to read the complete message. She only hears Jesse’s comment about it being a good thing that the Bellas are trying to get stuff done without Beca.

The DJ once again storms off to a corner of the hospital, annoyed that even the Bellas were getting cozy with the idea of doing things without her, the idea that they didn’t need her.

She doesn’t hear Jesse’s comment about how much that would greatly help with Beca’s recovery process when she wakes up, and how that would lighten up her load.

The last straw came when the Bellas arrive. They looked excited and bubbly – and again, Beca has no idea that this was because they were looking forward to executing their plans to make life easier for Beca, hopeful that she’ll make it, and the whole “Beca and Chloe relationship push” thing – that Beca misinterprets it as the Bellas simply moving on. The moment she caught up with the Bellas, it didn’t help that the last comment she heard was Lilly’s almost inaudible whisper about her how her money was still on Beca going critical.

Beca huffs and walks away, not hearing the details about the bet on how Chloe and Beca would confess their feelings for each other. Beca groans before she gasps, feeling Death grasp her hand tightly as he dragged her back to where she should be.

“Why do you have to always not listen to me?” Death reprimanded.

“What are you doing?” Beca asked, still annoyed, as Death drags her around the hospital until they were standing outside her room. She refused to peer inside and chose to ignore the presence of the other Bellas.

“We’re about to continue our journey.” Death explained looking at Beca curiously, totally not missing the tone in her voice.

“What for? You should probably just let me die. They don’t need me, they’ll be fine without me.”

Death could sense the anger rising up in the DJ, but that didn’t really tell him anything about why she’s mad. The boy looked up to meet Beca’s gaze, her steely eyes burning with hurt and rage. “What on earth are you talking about Beca?”

Beca let out a deep breath before she met the Death’s rosy red eyes. The boy looked utterly confused. After all, Death had thought that he was actually getting through to her – and she was, she was totally getting how important meeting the Bellas were and being a part of them too – but from where she stood, it was like they really didn’t care about the impact she would have made on their lives. For that matter, they probably had no idea of the impact they’ve made in her own life.

So yeah, Beca goes on a rant about how the Bellas were moving on, how her dad – who she actually felt sorry for in one of the ‘What If’ realities Death had shown her – was already planning to pack her stuff away. She was mad, and hurt, and betrayed. There she was, actually starting to believe that she should fight for her life, when they’ve all but given up on her.

There was another lesson somewhere in there, something about the importance of having good communication to avoid misunderstandings, but Beca was totally missing the point.

Death took a deep breath and slowly released it, closing his eyes and furrowing his brow even more. He had pretty much had enough of Beca’s back and forth.

And when he opened his eyes, to meet Beca's gaze once more, there was a certain kind of intensity in them.

Beca pretty much decided to shut up mid-sentence when he saw the unfazed look in Death’s eyes, his face set hard and cold like marble. He took another deep breath in, as if he was trying to calm himself, before slowly releasing it.

And that’s when all hell broke loose.

Well, maybe not hell, but that was when things took a turn for the worse.

Death snapped his fingers, and Beca thought that snapping loudly as he just did could never be possible in real life.

It didn’t even take seconds when the monotonous beeping sounds made by the machines hooked up to her corporeal body started going crazy, beeping faster and faster.

That seemed to snap Beca back to reality as her attention immediately fell upon the scene happening inside her room. Chloe stood up without warning, immediately reaching out to Beca’s body, Aubrey running frantically out of Beca’s room to call for help. Jesse and Amy, and the rest of the Bellas flooded in through the room, Amy clicking the help button as rapidly as she could to help Aubrey get help fast.

“What the hell is happening? What’s going on?” Beca demanded.

“You’re having a cardiac arrest.” Death answered a little too coolly that it unsettled her.

The doctors rush in, getting Chloe out of the way to work on Beca. The Bellas and Jesse squished in with each other, trying to see what’s happening, while Dr. Mitchell came rushing in, getting through them. Chloe was yelling, crying, desperately calling on Beca, hoping to reach her while Aubrey did all she could to hold onto Chloe.

Dr. Mitchell started to help Aubrey as Chloe’s desolation only grew, both the blonde and Beca’s father looked equally devastated with what was happening. They all wanted to be there right next to her, hold her hand, something. They wanted to hold on as the hospital staff tried desperately to get them out of the room and let the doctors work on saving her.

“Dude, stop it.” Beca said, her voice was shaking, pleading.

“No.” Death replied. “You think they won’t miss you, that they don’t need you. Tell me what do you see? Do you think you’re friends are happy or are they suffering?”

The beeping grew wild, going faster and faster until it stopped.

There was nothing, just the flat tone of a steady line, no ups and downs from the machine.

“Dude, stop it!” Beca begged, hitting Death on his arm to get his attention.

“No.” Death replied.

Beca’s doctors didn’t waste any time. The tried working on getting her heart to start beating again.

Trial number one with defibrillator.

It failed.

“Beca!” she hear Chloe scream out in her state of brokenness. The sound of her voice breaking Beca’s heart.

“You little twerp, stop playing around!” Beca demanded and Death stayed silent. She felt numb watching the scene unfold in front of her.

Trial number two with the d-fib.

Still failed.

“Damn it Beca! You selfish idiot! Wake up!” Chloe cried out. “I… I’m not going to forgive you if you die…”

“Damn it! You little dweeb, do something already!” Beca cried out, grabbing Death by the neck of his hoodie and lifting him up to have him on eye level.

But his eyes remained expressionless.

Trial number three with the d-fib.

“Beca! Damn it! Don’t you get it!?” Chloe exclaimed, the despondency and woe in her voice growing more by the minute and Beca could hear her core shaking.

Nothing.

Her friends pleaded for one more shot, sensing the doctors were about to give up.

And they did, quite possibly out of fear from the death glare Aubrey was giving them.

“Beca! Wake up! Live! Don’t you understand? I love you Beca… I love you and it would kill me if you die…”

Beca pretty much dropped Death to his feet as she heard Chloe’s words. She saw the redhead slumped down on the floor. No sound reached her then, Chloe’s words were all that echoed in her head.

She didn’t hear the cries of grief, the misery that had befallen her friends.

Death snapped his fingers, once, then twice, his eyes back to the surprisingly soft look in them that he usually wore and they were covered by the light.

And Beca didn’t get to hear her heart starting to beat again.


	12. Chloe's Slip Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then it hit her.
> 
> Chloe gasped as she realized what had happened. She saw Dr. Mitchell looking at her with a gentle smile, he looked tired and worn out from staying at the lounge of Beca’s floor at the hospital the last few nights to keep an eye out on her daughter, and the emotional roller coaster ride they were on moments ago was enough to take a toll on anyone. She then finally registered Aubrey leaning to her side, arms around her while taking a sip from her drink.
> 
> “So you love my daughter, huh?” Dr. Mitchell asked, still smiling which only made Chloe even more flustered than she already was. “You’re in love with her?” he repeated to ask.

The day started out the same.

By the same, Chloe meant similar to how the other day started since Beca had been in the hospital… since the accident…

She hated to leave the DJ’s side for long, but Dr. Mitchell was right. She needed rest too.

She did find it endearing that they’ve opened up their home to her and let her stay in Beca’s room to rest and catch up on some sleep. She was, after all, her best friend.

And her heart ached at that, because to her, Beca would always be more than just her best friend.

If only she felt that way too.

Chloe found it strange that even though Beca rarely stayed over her dad’s for the holidays – especially since they started living in the Bella House – her pillows smelled so much like her.

And the thought would make Chloe hurt, and ache even more.

Then it would make her smile.

Because the scent on Beca’s pillow was of her favorite perfume.

And Beca’s favorite perfume was something that Chloe got her one Christmas time.

She barely slept, but she did get to relax a bit as well as freshen up.

Her return to Beca’s room was a little stressful when she found the German vixen hanging out in Beca’s room – Jessica and Ashley weren’t able to do much to keep her out. Good thing Chloe had what would be a passable R n’ R.

With the DSM she-wolf out of the way, Chloe was bound to get some rest, right?

But no, Chloe had to find the paper with the bets on it.

At first she was upset, because who in their right minds would make a bet on their friends, especially when one of them is in critical condition?

But when Chloe realized what the bets were about, she did calm down a little, it helped that Aubrey immediately rushed to Jesse’s rescue as the Treble could barely get any sentences out.

The Bellas wanted Beca to wake up soon, they believed in her, they believed she would live.

And maybe having a bet on Beca meeting/fighting/hanging out with the Grim Reaper himself was a little bit amusing too.

Chloe could already imagine Beca’s signature smirk plastered on her face when she gets the chance to read the slip of paper with the bets.

Well, maybe she’ll keep the bets about any progress on their relationship to herself.

Although strangely enough, even Jesse, the ex-boyfriend himself, supports it.

So maybe there was hope after all.

Beca just needed to wake up, and everything would be okay.

Boy, Chloe sure wasn’t expecting the long afternoon ahead of her.

It was quiet, other than the infernal noise of Beca’s life support, reminding her that Beca was still teetering between life and death. Aubrey was saying something about how she first thought that there was something going on between her and Beca. It was something about having someone else see the stolen glances, the lingering touches, that Chloe thought she was the only one who noticed that made her smile.

Well, Chloe wasn’t exactly oblivious. She knew the Bellas knew too, that they saw and witnessed whatever that something was between her and Beca, but it was like they had this unspoken agreement to keep it between themselves. Sure there were teasing, but it never got out of hand, Chloe made sure of it, afraid that Beca would freak out over it.

The two of them had always been close, ever since they started to build their friendship during Beca’s freshman year, and they’ve only gotten closer over the years.

So maybe Chloe felt a little attacked when Beca called her out on purposely failing Russian Lit to still be a Bella, and maybe it was wrong to call Beca out on being distant, she knew that the DJ would come to her and talk to her about whatever it was that she was keeping a secret when she was ready, because that’s the thing with Beca, you let her come to you when she’s ready and you don’t push her. Not always at least, because yeah, sometimes Beca needed a little pushing.

But really, the only reason that Chloe flipped out was because she couldn’t very well scream at the top of her lungs that she was in love with her, right? Because that might freak Beca out, that might push her away, and Chloe would always choose whatever little bit of Beca she could have instead of not having her at all.

Chloe knew, the doctors explained, that even if Beca wakes up, she might not be the same. She hit her head pretty bad, and while they said they did their best, there was a chance that she would lose some cognitive function, or maybe have amnesia.

But Chloe didn’t care, she’ll worry about that later. What mattered to her was that Beca wakes up. She’ll never leave her side whatever comes their way, she’ll be there to brave out the remaining storm with her.

And yes, maybe that was a little bit selfish of Chloe, but she really couldn’t imagine her life without her, the tiny, smug, self-proclaimed badass – because yes there were times when she proved she was – DJ that was always grumpy in the mornings, grouchy when she didn’t get enough sleep, and who would only smile a brilliant smile if and when Chloe does something to coax it out of her.

Beca was a part of her, and Beca dying meant having a part of her die along with her.

And that was pretty much what had started to happen when all of a sudden Beca’s monitor started beeping like crazy.

It was a whirlwind of emotion after another. Chloe wasn’t entirely sure who was holding her for a moment or two when she saw the doctors’ frantic attempts at keeping Beca alive.

Then Chloe heard the sound she dreaded the most.

And all Chloe could do was beg and plead and implore and supplicate. All she could do was ask Beca to wake up for her, to open her eyes, to fight for her life.

They tried resuscitate her heart.

Once. But it failed. And Chloe could feel her heart sinking as she yelled out Beca’s name.

Twice. But it didn’t do anything. And Chloe started to feel numb as she called Beca out on being a selfish idiot, because only a selfish idiot would take the easy way out and die. Not that it was a logical train of thought for Chloe at the moment, but that was what she felt.

Thrice. Still nothing. And Chloe could feel her knees going out, feeling two people supporting her weight as she said “Beca! Damn it! Don’t you get it!?”

The Bellas started to plead with the doctors, Jesse growing weak as he slunk back and leaned on the walls for support.

A fourth. Silence. Then Chloe just lets it out “Beca! Wake up! Live! Don’t you understand? I love you Beca… I love you and it would kill me if you die…”

And Chloe could feel herself almost fainting as one of the doctors said “Call it.”

She could barely register the other Bellas crying and sobbing, Aubrey and Dr. Mitchell almost slipping down the floor along with Chloe, the others trying to support them.

And then it happened.

Beep.

It was one beat. Then followed by another, a bit weak and uncertain, then another, growing steady by the minute.

The doctors looked at a loss, Beca’s heart was beating. She was alive. Still in a coma, but alive nonetheless.

The Bellas urged Chloe to go with Dr. Mitchell and Aubrey for some coffee and fresh air. Stacie helped Jesse up, Amy and Cynthia Rose manning the post to make sure Beca doesn’t do that again. Lilly a little disappointed that Beca didn’t wake up right then and there, almost winning the bet, then they would have had their happy ending.

Chloe didn’t even notice Aubrey helping her get into Dr. Mitchell’s car. She didn’t notice them driving to Beca’s favorite coffee shop for some coffee. She didn’t notice Aubrey helping her out as they got themselves settled in the booth she always shared with Beca. The only thought running through her head was that she almost lost Beca, she almost lost the chance to tell her how she felt.

And then it hit her.

Chloe gasped as she realized what had happened. She saw Dr. Mitchell looking at her with a gentle smile. He looked tired and worn out from staying at the lounge of Beca’s floor at the hospital the last few nights to keep an eye out on her daughter. Besides, just the emotional roller coaster ride they were on moments ago was enough to take a toll on anyone. She then finally registered Aubrey leaning to her side, arms around her while taking a sip from her drink.

“So you love my daughter, huh?” Dr. Mitchell asked, still smiling which only made Chloe even more flustered than she already was. “You’re in love with her?” he repeated to ask.

“Ye-yes” Chloe finally managed to say, her face possibly redder than her hair at the moment and she could hear Aubrey laugh a little as she sat quietly by her side.

“She’s lucky to have you.” Dr. Mitchell then said. “And you know what I think, I think she loves you too.”

“Wh-what makes you say that, sir?” Chloe dared ask, sounding a little bit formal.

“Because you got her heart to start beating again.” was all that Beca’s father gave as a reply.


	13. What if I Die?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I thought you wanted to die.” Death said slyly to which Beca harrumphed in response. “Well at least you saw that the Bellas actually wanted you to live.” he then said pointedly.
> 
> “Whatever dude. So am I dead now?” Beca dared ask, a little unsure of how she wanted to feel about it.
> 
> “No.” Death simply said in response and Beca felt herself release a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.

“God damn it Death! Do you really have to be the death of me!?” Beca exclaimed and Death offered a light smile.

That was the first time she actually called Death by his name during their journey, no height-based nicknames included, just calling Death by his name.

“I thought you wanted to die.” Death said slyly to which Beca harrumphed in response. “Well at least you saw that the Bellas actually wanted you to live.” he then said pointedly.

“Whatever dude. So am I dead now?” Beca dared ask, a little unsure of how she wanted to feel about it.

“No.” Death simply said in response and Beca felt herself release a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.

“Where are we then?” Beca asked.

“We are in a place where we can answer your last question.”

“And that is?”

“What if you die?”

“Oh.”

“You ready?” Death asked and Beca could see the kindness in his eyes.

“This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”

“No.” he answered truthfully.

And so Death began to take Beca on her last trip, they were off to see the world as it could possibly become if Beca chooses to die.

They first visited Jesse. It was a flash-forward to three years later. He was in LA. He was scoring movies. His dreams come true, except he never truly recovers from the loss he felt when his best friend died. He mostly worked with tragic themed movies, the only way he could truly express himself. He lost all interest in watching movies all together after Beca died.

They then visited Amy in Australia, she was married to Bumper. She was actually the one who proposed – surprise, surprise. Not wanting to waste any time anymore knowing how short life is, she keeps updating her bucket list, something she never even had before. But the Australian wasn’t her usual cheery self anymore. She rarely took risks that were ill-advised to take, and she rarely made jokes. She lost her best friend too.

Stacie was next. She was in DC, making a difference. She graduated on the top of their class, dedicating her graduation speech to Beca and how she touched her life, even though she probably didn’t even know it. Her death ends up affecting her in a way she never did realize was possible. Stacie becomes one of the youngest woman who gets awarded the Noble Prize, form trying to find cures to advocating for laws for the people. Stacie had been busy. She threw away the partying and embraced her hidden smarts completely.

Cynthia Rose was the fourth stop. She was also living in LA with her wife, writing music, scouting fresh talents, and making it in the industry. She dedicated her first Grammy to the DJ that inspired her. She’s been struggling with her gambling problem after her death though – and admittedly, she shouldn’t even be chipping in with the Bellas’ bets but betting on her friends’ happiness strangely enough helped her deal with her problem – and while she’s staying strong, it’s still something she’s constantly fighting.

Lilly disappeared. Vanished into thin air. But there was something about being the best asset to the CIA that Death points out somewhere along the way in their journey, and something about the guy who hit her experiencing his worst nightmares yearly on the eve of the accident and the eve of Beca’s death.

Beca didn’t know how to feel about that. She was oddly enough both scared of Lilly and in awe of her.

They visited Emily next. She sees her doing a fine job as the new leader of the Bellas. While walking through the house, Beca sees the trophy they end up winning during the Worlds, and like all other awards thus far, it was also dedicated to her. Emily spends time talking to the former Bellas about Beca though, she’s still feeling a little depressed with what happened to her, and Beca did notice that she wasn’t her usual bubbly self too. She rarely talked. She does collaborate with Cynthia Rose in penning new songs, her outlet for emotions.

Jessica and Ashley both decide to see the world and travel around for about a year or so. They settle somewhere in New York where they share a flat with each other. They seem to have the most normal routine that Beca gets to see but every now and then she does see Jessica – or was it Ashley – getting all teary eyed at the thought of having to lose a friend at such a young age. They talk about Beca sometimes, and how they admired her talents, and the wasted chance to build a better and closer friendship with her.

  
Flo decides to stay at Barden for graduate studies, until she eventually becomes a therapist who specialize in grief counselling. Like Jessica and Ashley, she feels bad with the missed chances she could have had to build a closer friendship with the DJ. To cope, she decides to help others going through the same things she was going through. It did help that she had a lot of experience with a lot of crazy situations as related by her out of the blue anecdotes.

Beca and Death eventually drops by to see her dad, and it pained Beca to see him suffer. They were on their way to building a better and stronger relationship with each other, and it all falls apart when she dies. Missed chances, missed opportunities. All were too late.

The last person they visit was Aubrey. She lives with Chloe in their shared apartment, sticking around in Atlanta. Aubrey becomes softer with dealing with people, she ends up writing a book about how to deal with losing someone so young and so unexpectedly. She still whips people into shape and into a team with a strong core at some retreat place Beca didn’t even know she was running, but something was off, and she could tell it. Aubrey was constantly sad. Especially when she’s looking at Chloe’s closed door, presumably hearing the redhead’s sobs.

“You’ve been awfully quiet, I think we actually broke a record.” Death comments as they found themselves standing in Aubrey and Chloe’s apartment.

“Oh, shut up.” Beca replied.

“What are you thinking Mitchell?”

“I didn’t think I’d affect their lives this way. That just suddenly leaving would hurt them. After all this, after we graduate, we’ll move on with our lives, so why does it matter?”

“Just because you go your separate ways doesn’t mean you lose touch. Sometimes you don’t get to talk a lot with them, but when you do catch up with each other and see each other again, it’s as if nothing’s changed. It’s like the people who you let in and let go never left. That’s what happens when you have a friendship built on such strong bonds.”

“Right.” Beca said in agreement.

“Ready for the last place?”

“The last place being Chloe?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think I am.” Beca said quietly. “But I know I have to, don’t I?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go see Chloe.” she said, trying to brush of the sadness in her voice as she wiped away the tears already threatening to fall with her hands. Seeing all her friends deal with what happens next after she dies, if she dies, was tough enough. Seeing how her dad copes too.

Seeing Chloe grieve over her would break her completely.


	14. Lilly's Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Lilly thought about it, thought real hard.
> 
> There was still a possibility that Beca never wakes up.
> 
> But there was a strong chance that she gets to do just that.
> 
> And Lilly was still betting on Beca waking up.

Lilly never thought that the day would come when she would feel at a loss at a given situation at hand.

That is, until Beca almost died.

But then again, she knew that it would happen.

She could sense it.

So maybe it was a good thing her friends couldn’t read her thoughts or hear everything she actually says.

Because they would have heard her saying that it looked like it was all Death’s plan, and the very statement wouldn’t make sense to any of her friends.

Besides, she would have had to explain how she could see a boy who looked like he was around nine, with white hair and rosy eyes, talking to Beca – ethereal Beca – who was dressed in nothing but white.

They would’ve called her crazy. But then again some of their ideas were always a little out there, so maybe not.

When the Bellas heard about Stacie’s theory, Lilly almost tried to explain to her friends about the possibility that Death might actually be with Beca, keeping a watch on her as she hangs between the delicate balance between life and the afterlife.

But then again, she wouldn’t know exactly what was happening, so why bother explaining it.

Besides, the Bellas were always quick to find ways of trying to keep the hope alive. That was something Lilly always loved about the girls.

Lilly was, in many ways, an extraordinary girl, but even extraordinary had limits.

At least in human perspectives.

So what was Death doing with Beca? She doesn’t know.

Why Beca seemed upset at Death? She doesn’t know either.

But at least she knows Beca was still somewhere around.

She was still hanging in there, fighting.

Somewhat.

Stacie and Cynthia Rose decided to stay with Beca while the others decided to take a moment to gather themselves, those two had always been strong when everyone needed them to be. Emily, Amy, and Flo decided to help Jesse up, all three also pretty much shaken with what had just transpired, but they were hanging in there. The four of them decided to step outside for a moment and get some fresh air.

Jessica and Ashley still seemed shaken too. Lilly was sitting with the two girls outside of Beca’s room. The two of them clinging closer to each other as they tried to calm themselves. Jessica – and yes, Lilly was sure it was Jessica – kept saying something over and over. Lilly could barely hear her say it – and they say she was the quite one – but she gathers it was something like “Beca’s strong, she’s going to hang in there.”

The next day was a bit easier. The doctors kept Beca under constant observation for the next couple of hours after her cardiac arrest, but found nothing to worry about. To say they were perplexed was an understatement.

Dr. Mitchell was with Chloe in Beca’s room, talking about the DJ when the doctors entered that morning. Lilly was sitting outside with Emily stretched on the chairs outside, dozing off.

Lilly always had a keen sense of hearing, so it wasn’t much of a problem to listen in on the conversation happening inside.

“It’s a miracle to say the least, Dr. Mitchell. You’re daughter seems to be fine. Her injuries are healing up quite nicely, and we might even get to see a speedy recovery. All we need is for your daughter to wake up.” a Dr. Gray said.

“Of course we still have to asses her cognitive function when she does. She had a bit of a brain trauma, with the slight fracture on her right frontal bone. We’ve assessed the injury the best we could, but we don’t know if any further damage was done until she wakes up.” she hears another one of the doctors say, she thinks her name was Dr. Ferrer.

Dr. Mitchell was at a loss for words, it truly was a miracle. He kept expressing his thanks to the doctors who worked hard to save Beca’s life, who worked hard to keep her alive.

It was Dr. Ferrer who answered. “Oh, please, don’t thank us Dr. Mitchell. We only did what we could. It would seem that some force greater than us is keeping your daughter alive. We’re not exactly ones who preach on miracles but, when Dr. Gray said that earlier, he really meant it.”

Lilly still heard Dr. Mitchell express his thanks, nevertheless. Chloe, on the other hand, remained quite. Beca was going to be okay. At least that was what the doctors said for now. All that was left was for Beca to wake up.

And Lilly thought about it, thought real hard.

There was still a possibility that Beca never wakes up.

But there was a strong chance that she gets to do just that.

And Lilly was still betting on Beca waking up.

Beca was stubborn, moody some times. Okay, maybe almost all the time. But she was a fighter. She’s not just someone who gives up. Okay, maybe she is, considering until she met the Bellas she always chose to runaway when things get hard.

But she was fighting for her life.

If anything, clearly the reason why Beca was so upset with Death when she caught a glimpse of them should be indicative of that, right?

Because Beca always hated making Chloe upset, and she was making her incredibly upset when she was dying. That’s why she fought so hard to live.

Lilly couldn’t help but wonder though, if Beca was with Death, if they were together in the hospital yesterday late afternoon, where were they now?

Where did they go?

Maybe she’s still fighting.

And was this the reason why Beca was still in a coma?

Because she was nowhere near her corporeal body now?

So why was Death keeping her away?

Maybe she’s being tested or something. Who knows?

Especially when it seems that what Death wanted – at least from what Lilly could guess – was for the DJ to live.

Oh, if Lilly only knew.


	15. Words Never Spoken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if I didn’t cross the street?
> 
> What if at some point beforehand I decided to run back to Chloe, to the Bella house?
> 
> What if I just opened up to her?
> 
> What if I decided to stay and talk things through?
> 
> What if I just faced the truth?
> 
> Yep, too many what ifs.
> 
> But that’s the thing. That was the point.
> 
> They don’t have to be what ifs.

Chloe finally graduates. She finds a job where she can teach kids how to sing. She’s been living with Aubrey.

And she never gets over Beca.

Beca watched a brief scene of the Bellas going through her things to sort them out after she dies. She sees Chloe find a folder of mixes that Beca had on her computer labeled ‘CHEMISTRY’

Chloe found it odd that Beca would still have a folder for her chemistry class, considering the DJ never liked it in the first place. She got a good grade, but Beca was used to doing the bare minimum to get by and that’s just not possible in a chemistry class.

So Chloe thought it was probably Beca’s journal and that the DJ was just trying to throw anyone curious off the track to what it really was. And in a way it was Beca’s journal that Chloe found.

All the feelings that Beca could never quite express properly for Chloe were expressed in songs and mixes in that folder. Dozens and dozens of them. Some dated from the day they met at the activities fair, up until the night before the accident. All labeled in the same manner “Chloe’s mix #...”

And Beca still kept vehemently denying she had feelings for the redhead.

Because, yeah, totally keeping a secret folder of songs and mixes for the redhead didn’t scream ‘I love you!’

And that pretty much left Chloe in a state of brokenness and sadness.

Because all that was left as proof that Beca loved her was a library that showcased Beca’s musical brilliance entirely dedicated to her.

That and too many “What Ifs” plus an endless number of regrets.

What if Beca kissed her during aca-initiation night? What if she actually admitted she was jealous when she saw Chloe with Tom and Chloe admitted she got jealous from seeing Beca with Jesse?

What if Beca didn’t push her away, push her feelings away, just because Chloe made her feel vulnerable? What if she kissed Chloe instead of Jesse during their first time winning the Nationals?

What if Chloe said something and let go of the fear of pushing Beca away? What if she fought for her, and fought real hard?

What if?

They’re all just unanswered questions.

And that’s all that they’ll ever be…

…if Beca dies…

Death then takes Beca away from the glimpse of a possible future’s past and before they knew it, they were standing in front of her grave.

“So, what if I die, huh?” Beca said as a comment, not entirely sure what to feel.

Then Chloe comes, and all Beca could do was watch and listen to her quite sobs. Chloe was wearing one of Beca’s favorite flannel shirts and it hit Beca just how much she meant to Chloe.

Making her wish that she could hopefully show Chloe one day how much she actually meant to her too.

“Hey Becs.” she heard Chloe say in between the sobs. She smiled weakly at nothing but the cold hard stone with Beca’s name engraved on it.

Chloe went on to tell her about her day and Beca realized that the Chloe in front of her must have been visiting her grave every day. Every single day since she died.

The redhead went on about her usual routines. She talked about anything new happening at work, what Aubrey was trying to do to cheer her up. She’d talk about the other Bellas who would update her of what’s going on with their lives, sending their regards to Beca because they know that she visits her everyday too.

Chloe talked about Jesse too, how they’ve become great friends over the years. She’d tell Beca about what her dad’s been up to, the two of them keeping tabs on each other. Then Chloe talked about the thing that brought them together in the first place, music. She updated Beca about hot new artists, songs she would definitely love to hear. She’d talk about songs that Beca would tear apart and critic and make better by mixing it herself. She would tell Beca which last song she heard from her ‘Chloe Playlist’, because the redhead would listen to it every night before she went to sleep.

She talked to Beca about her dreams, mostly about her and being with her again. She told Beca her theories and hypothesis about the specific track she’s talking about, and recount the memories they could have shared with it, take a guess at why Beca included it in the mix.

Before Beca even noticed, she could feel the silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

And Chloe just had to say it. Because that’s how she usually ended her conversations with Beca when she visits.

“You know, my one great regret is never telling you how I felt. Even Jesse thinks you’re in love with me. So why didn’t we take the chance Beca? Why… why couldn’t we have…?”  
Chloe tried to fight back the tears, but it was a futile attempt. They were always there.

“I love you Beca.” She heard Chloe say as she leaned in closer to the gravestone, pressing her forehead on the place where Beca’s name was engraved. It hits Beca just how much those words that remained unspoken between them when she still lived weighed, how much they meant. Because it was what hurt the most, never getting to say them, to hear them.

Even though they were there.

Locked up in their hearts as a secret.

A secret that could have been a reality.

If only they had the courage to live it.

“And I miss you so, so much.” she heard Chloe add in a breathy whisper while she tried to contain the sob breaking out.

Chloe gently placed a kiss on Beca’s marker before she turned around and left. “See you tomorrow Becs.”

Beca just stood there, unable to move, emotions running, taking over her completely. “Too many what ifs.” Death hears her say before he changes the scene before them.

They were standing at the street crossing where Beca met her accident when she finally snapped out of her thoughts.

Beca walked towards the spot where the car had struck her, sending shivers down her spine with the memory of the accident.

What if I didn’t cross the street?

What if at some point beforehand I decided to run back to Chloe, to the Bella house?

What if I just opened up to her?

What if I decided to stay and talk things through?

What if I just faced the truth?

Yep, too many what ifs.

But that’s the thing. That was the point.

They don’t have to be what ifs.

Beca turned to look at Death who was looking at her expectantly.

“What’s next? Are you going to show me what happens if I lived?” she asked him and Death shook his head.

“If you choose to live then you ought to know, the future is uncertain, it will be undecided. The possibilities would be endless. Life doesn’t have certainties. We’re able to visit this world where you die because its future is pretty much ascertained once the decision is made, once you choose to die. But if you live… Oh Beca, if you live… anything can happen.”

Beca nodded as she wiped away the tears. She understood what he meant.

“There is something else I’d like to show you though.” Death then said and Beca looked at him with a curious gaze.

“What?” she asked out loud.

But Death simply smiled. “Your friends and loved ones.” he said.

Beca had no idea what he meant by that, but she trusted Death with her life.


	16. Legacy's Brilliant Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because that’s what the Bellas were, a family.
> 
> And they were there, making plans on what to do for Beca when she wakes up, plans on how they could show how much they appreciate their captain’s work and her presence in their lives, plans on how they can lighten up her load. 
> 
> And if one generation of Bellas themselves was a strong family on its own, what if they pull together just about everyone they can?

Emily woke up some time before noon, she didn’t even realize how exhausted she truly had been until then. Lilly was ready when she woke up with a handful of food from the cafeteria. Thankful for the grub, Emily immediately stuffed herself full before finding the strength to ask for updates.

As if to answer her question, there were a group of doctors and nurses rolling in some sort of machine being brought into Beca’s room.

Emily peeked inside and saw that Beca was still on life support even though the doctors noted that she seemed to be breathing on her own. They kept her hooked on the mechanical ventilator in case anything unexpected happens again. They were monitoring Beca’s progress by the hour and if nothing critical happens again, they might unhook all the machines completely.

The new machine they started hooking up to Beca though was for something else entirely.

One of the doctors in the room recalled the incident about Beca crying while in her coma, so they decided to continuously monitor spikes in her brain activity to gain a better understanding of Beca’s condition.

Well that was new.

At least for Emily.

And then the doctors pretty much exclaimed.

Beca’s mind was quite active for a comatose patient.

She then heard the doctors explain to both Dr. Mitchell and Chloe that Beca’s case was truly remarkable. Something must be going on with her.

And while they reiterated that her injuries were healing quite nicely, they reminded them that there was still that chance that Beca never wakes up. Or even if she did, she might have some form of memory loss.

Their worry about loss in cognitive function though was already being whisked away based from the readings they were getting.

Again, something new.

Emily had no idea what to do with the information she just overheard. She looked around and saw Lilly looking rather thoughtful.

Did she hear what the doctors say? What were Lilly’s thought’s on the matter?

Even if Lilly explained, Emily resigned to her fate of not understanding much of it.

Music was what made sense to Emily, not science.

Although one of Beca’s doctors did say that judging from Beca’s brain activity, it would seem she was composing her own symphony.

Or having some sort of incredibly realistic dream.

Maybe an out of body experience?

But no one has an absolute answer.

Because no patient had ever gone through what Beca was going through right now.

That much was clear to Emily.

“Don’t worry dear, we’re doing our best to get your girlfriend back to you.” Emily heard one of the youngest-looking doctors in the bunch say. She thinks he was called Dr. Mercier.

Chloe was pretty much flustered after that and mumbled something under her breath, Emily just heard Dr. Mitchell laugh a little.

And apparently the doctors found Chloe’s reaction completely adorable.

Emily was smiling to herself when she saw five of Beca’s doctors immediately exiting her room after that comment, followed by their residents and interns, and then the nurses. She felt like she could breathe a little easier again. It wasn’t like Beca was a hundred percent out of the woods, but you take what you can get.

And it was kind of a light moment that Emily enjoyed.

Lilly and Emily got back to the Bella house sometime around lunch, and already the Legacy was scrambling to her room. They had an incredibly emotional twenty four hours and Emily needed to get somethings off of her chest.

She started writing.

Song after song.

Even finishing up that song she started to write, the one she auditioned with. She’s been playing around with it the past few weeks.

Emily hoped that maybe when Beca wakes up the DJ could help her with it. Collaborate or something.

And Emily of course still thought that it would be the perfect song for her and Chloe, especially after all that’s happened the last three days.

It’s been hard. It’s been hard on all of them, and if Emily loses the ability to cry for the next three years, she’s pretty sure why.

She’s pretty much cried a whole lifetime of tears since Beca’s accident.

Lilly pretty much had the whole ‘Beca’s awesome mixes’ thing done by the time she emerged out of her room. She immediately went to the kitchen to grab some food.

Cynthia Rose and Stacie had been talking on the counter since they arrived earlier, and they haven’t moved since then. They were probably talking about what to do next, wondering what happens next.

“Whatcha’ guys up to?” Emily asks as she stifled a yawn. She was tired. Incredibly tired.

“Trying to come up with an idea to cheer Chloe up. Trying to come up with an idea to surprise Beca with when she wakes up. Trying to come up with an idea for those two. And trying to come up with an idea to help deal with the Worlds.” Stacie enumerated.

Emily simply hummed in response thoughtful about what Stacie had just said.

“What are you humming about Legacy?” Cynthia Rose asked.

Emily recounted the stories her mom would tell her about the Bellas to both Stacie and Cynthia Rose, how they were like a family during her time and all.

And if anything, during the last few days especially, that’s what the Bellas were, a family.

They were betting on Beca to pull through.

They were betting on Beca’s happiness.

They’ve been there for each other, in private moments too, when they just needed to deal with what was happening and process their emotions.

They were there for Chloe, taking turns to keep the redhead company, especially since they understood how hard it was for the redhead.

It wasn’t hard to see. Even Emily though that the two were dating since she joined the Bellas. She may or may not have even told her mom about it. It was like the two co-captains were the parents and everyone else in the Bellas were the children they looked after, sisters through and through.

And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out just how much Chloe was hurting seeing Beca in the state she was in. The thought and the fear of losing her probably consuming Chloe, haunting her with questions of what could have been and what might have been.

But luckily the Bellas were there for her too. They were there for both of them.

Because that’s what the Bellas were, a family.

And they were there, making plans on what to do for Beca when she wakes up, plans on how they could show how much they appreciate their captain’s work and her presence in their lives, plans on how they can lighten up her load.

And if one generation of Bellas themselves was a strong family on its own, what if they pull together just about everyone they can?

At least to rally behind them and help for the Worlds.

Not make magic between Beca and Chloe when the DJ wakes up.

Or maybe that too.

Honestly, when it comes to the Bellas, who knows?

But if Stacie’s and Cynthia Rose’s reactions were anything to go by with, it looks like they were all in.

The current Bellas anyways.

And Emily was almost pretty sure that the former Bellas would be quite eager to help too.


	17. While I was Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the looks of it, her friends have had quite an eventful three days.
> 
> Capped off with her almost dying of course.
> 
> But that was the key word. Almost.
> 
> It wasn’t too late yet.

Beca looked at Death a little perplexed. They were back at the hospital, in her room to be exact, except everything was frozen in time.

“What’s going on? I thought you said that you were going to show me my friends and loved ones.” Beca said.

“Yes.” Death agreed. “I was planning to show you a little something before I ask you my question. I wanted you to see how your friends were, what they were up to, the past three days you’ve been gone.”

“I’ve been gone three days?” Beca echoed the though. It really didn’t feel like three days.

“Well, we have been to a number of places, Mitchell. What did you think was going to happen? Have everything be left in stasis? If you’ve forgotten I had to go take care of business somewhere in the middle.” Death replied.

Beca just nodded thoughtfully at that, she really didn’t want to remember her whole hissy fit of sorts before they went to see what would happen if she had died.

“Okay, and what will happen during that?”

“You go get to see the things they were doing, like watching a video of the things that had happened, but in 3D, and you get to stand in the middle of it all. But you can’t leave the room though.”

“Why not? What would happen if I leave?” Beca asked a little hesitant, remembering the whole crying-comatose-Beca incident.

“Nothing. It’s just that you really can’t leave the room. You’re simply tied to the place where your body is, because the only memories you can access are the memories of things that had happened around you. You know, things you could possibly sense and pick up on.” Death edified.

Beca nodded. “Okay. And would you be here the whole time, or… How does this work exactly?”

“Oh me, I have to catch up on work. I’ve been so busy baby-sitting you and all, I’ve been a little neglectful of those who needed me.” Death replied.

“How about just getting things started little guy.” Beca retorted.

“Oh, I am gonna miss you.” Death shot back.

With a snap of his fingers the room whirled and rewound and Beca watched the scenes that had occurred the last three days.

Including, of course, Jesse witnessing Chloe’s wrath.

She found it amusing at first. What’s more was that she was actually happy to see the two of them getting along – although they always somewhat did, they just weren’t close. It put a smile on Beca’s face to see Jesse and Chloe’s friendship strengthening throughout the last three days as they depended on each other, providing support for one another.

Beca thought it even more amusing to see their competition dropping by.

And oh the bloody fluffy murders of the teddy bears!

It made Beca smile even more to hear Chloe jealous of the Kommissar though.

She remembered Death say something about Aubrey calling her one of her dearest friends during one of their trips and Beca found out why. She was going to enjoy teasing the blonde about this.

Beca chuckled, it sounded like she already knew what she wanted.

She heard Chloe’s private thoughts, her private moments with the things she’d whisper to the unconscious Beca in front of her.

She saw Stacie comforting the redhead once too.

She saw her father drop by every now and then. He’d whisper some of his own private thoughts too, and even say a teary-eyed step-monster tell her how much she regrets not being able to build a relationship with her, wanting to really get to know Beca and all.

Then there were the Bellas taking turns in visiting her.

Jessica and Ashley reassured Beca that everything was going to be alright.

Emily remained resilient, bright, bubbly, and hopeful.

Lilly said something about making sure the guy who hit her won’t get off that easily – although form a flashback that involved Chloe, she was pretty sure that the redhead already had the poor guy shaking in his seat, wherever he was. It also brought up a memory of a certain possible future outcome where she dies.

Amy was still trying to crack her up with jokes.

Cynthia Rose reminded her that she was strong and the Bellas would be strong for her too.

Stacie reminded her that she wasn’t alone.

Aubrey would ever so often kindly remind Beca that if she broke Chloe’s heart by dying she would hunt her down in heaven or hell. Somehow Beca was sure that Aubrey would actually manage to do it if that happens.

Flo would update her on things that have happened so far.

Jesse apologized over and over again about their fight, and he reminded Beca to stop wasting time and go get the girl.

There was also something about a bet and Beca couldn’t help but laugh a little.

Of course those nerds would bet on something like a duel between her and Death, they were going to have a kick out of her stories.

If she decides to tell them.

If they’d actually believe her.

Okay, maybe not tell them the stories.

What’s more, they were apparently betting on Chloe and Beca getting together, and something about Jesse also joining the pool.

Of course he would. He would get himself involved in this if only to play the director.

Or the charming best friend.

She didn’t get to read the specifics of the bet though.

Instead she got a front row seat to Jesse being all scared of a very emotional Chloe.

And only for Aubrey to come to his rescue.

From the looks of it, her friends have had quite an eventful three days.

Capped off with her almost dying of course.

But that was the key word. Almost.

It wasn’t too late yet.

And didn’t she just hear Chloe tell her how much she loved her?

Chloe loved her too. She was in love with her too, although why Chloe would even love her like she did, Beca wasn’t sure. But it made her feel incredibly lucky.

Her friends loved her too. They didn’t want Beca gone, they wanted her to fight for her life and to live. Her dad too.

She was wrong.

Incredibly wrong.

And again Beca thought, how incredibly lucky she was.

She now understood what Death was trying to get her to see.

Death wanted her to live.


	18. Flo's Suggestion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Right.” Flo said. “But, see. Beca loves music. What if she needs some sort of, what’s it called… Uh… stimulus to wake up?”
> 
> “Stimulus? Like, playing music, the ones she love or the ones that mean a lot to her?” Chloe asked and Flo enthusiastically nodded.
> 
> Chloe beamed at her, the first time since Beca’s accident. “That might just work.”

Flo placed the plate of homemade brownies she made Chloe on the table tray on the side of Beca's bed as soon as she got to Beca’s room at the hospital.

Chloe looked up to her and smiled, acknowledging her presence before grabbing one brownie and thanking Flo for making them. All the girls were tired, working overtime on something even Chloe was a little curious about. It was Day 5 of Beca at the hospital.

Flo immediately dropped her bag on the floor and started to unpack some of Chloe’s home works, make-ups, and extra credits. She’s missed quite a few classes already, and so far the Bellas have been taking turns bringing her school-related work.

Chloe groaned, which made Flo laugh a little. The redhead was starting to get back to her usual self. Sure, she was still worried sick about Beca, but with the DJ’s condition improving by as the day goes by, the redhead felt like she could at least breathe a little better.

Chloe tried to get comfortable as she started with her readings, Flo minding her own business with her own work. Every now and then, Chloe would huff, and every now and then she would remind her that Beca wouldn’t be happy when she wakes up only to find Chloe behind her class work.

And of course Flo was right, so Chloe would listen.

Jesse arrived a good hour after Flo, providing a good source of distraction for the redhead. Thankfully Amy soon followed, and the two Bellas conspired to keep the two new besties apart. Chloe had to concentrate.

But she couldn’t.

“What’s the matter?” Flo asked.

“Too quiet?” Chloe replied, a little unsure if it was that. She had gotten used to the sound of the machines hooked up to Beca that she was already tuning it out.

Flo handed Chloe her iPod, somehow she knew that the redhead had been missing her life source, music – that is, other than a certain tiny DJ.

And again, Flo was right. Chloe would tap the beat every now and then of whatever song she was listening to as she actually made some good progress with her work. After another hour passes, Chloe had been all caught up.

Flo had to admit, Chloe was a pretty good student to begin with and she was impressed that with the proper motivation, she gets the job done.

No more purposefully failing Russian Lit for her.

Chloe sighed after all work was done, and before Flo knew it, she was quizzing her about what the Bellas were up to, if they’ve prepared anything for the Worlds, booked their hotels, planned a set-list or at least brainstormed ideas to help Beca out.

“All being taken care of.” was her swift, hopefully sufficient, reply.

Chloe nodded, before sighing again.

“Do you think Beca would wake up soon?” Chloe asked.

Flo had no idea what to give in response. She wanted to say “Yes” but she was worried about the definition of “soon”.

“I wish I can make a mix for her, you know. Maybe if I play it she’ll wake up to either praise me or criticize me for my sloppy work.” Chloe absent-mindedly said with half a chuckle.

And that’s when a crazy idea popped into her head.

“Maybe Beca’s bored.”

“Bored?” Chloe looked at her incredulously.

“Yeah, one time, my uncle Ernesto got in…”

“Flo, not now.” Chloe interrupted.

“Right.” Flo said. “But, see. Beca loves music. What if she needs some sort of, what’s it called… Uh… stimulus to wake up?”

“Stimulus? Like, playing music, the ones she love or the ones that mean a lot to her?” Chloe asked and Flo enthusiastically nodded.

Chloe beamed at her, the first time since Beca’s accident. “That might just work.”

But before Chloe could start experimenting on the sound stimulus theory that Flo suggested, something happened.

The machine monitoring Beca’s activity went wild.

Flo ran to get the doctors, the nurses keeping Chloe away as they went to check what was happening with Beca. The tiny DJ’s body started to jerk and the doctors were trying to hold her still.

Then Chloe realized, Beca was having a seizure.

Flo supported Chloe’s weight as she started to feel weak, Jesse and Amy quickly rushing into the room.

And all four of them waited in heavy silence and abated breath for something to happen…

Anything to happen…

…just so that those darn machines stopped beeping wildly and return to how they should be.

Chloe grasped Jesse’s hand tightly, the two of them growing incredibly closer and building a stronger relationship as best friends since the accident. And right now they needed each other, for Beca.

Because they want to keep fighting, but they can’t do it alone.

Alone they were physically and emotionally exhausted.

But they found strength in each other.

Though right now all they can do is hope for yet another miracle for Beca to pull through and be okay.

Beca’s body settled down, her breathing back to normal.

Her heart beat steady.

And her brain activity mellowing down.

The doctors still thought it strange. No more crazy wild spikes, no more highly active mind. Her brain activity was normal.

Normal, despite the fact she was still in a coma.

Three days pass by after that.

Beca was still in a coma.

It was Day 8 since the accident, and Flo had managed to get into the rhythm of her newly set routine.

Brownies for Chloe. Get Jesse to stop being a distraction – although in truth, Jesse didn’t know Chloe was using her as a distraction from her school work. And keep Chloe’s company until the next Bella takes over the shift.

Aubrey had been taking the shift to watch over Beca whenever Chloe needed to rest. The rest of the Bellas had a rotating schedule.

Flo heard Chloe release a heavy sigh.

That morning, Flo had heard from the Legacy that Beca could finally breathe on her own. They’ve taken away all the machines hooked up to her. Even the one monitoring her brain activity.

Everything had finally settled into a steady rhythm.

But the absence of the machines had brought upon a new kind of quiet to Chloe.

An unsettling quiet that was testing the redhead’s patience, and her heart.

Why hasn’t Beca woken up?

“Hey Chloe.” Flo then said and Chloe hummed in response.

“Have you thought about what I said?”

“About what Flo?”

“The stimulus. Maybe that’s why Beca hasn’t opened her eyes yet.”

“You really think that would work?” Chloe asked, a little unsure.

“You seemed to agree last time.” Flo reminded her. “All the Bellas agree that music brought you two together, maybe music will bring Beca back to you… I mean us… back to all of us.”

Chloe smiled lightly. “I’ll give it a thought Flo.”

And Flo took that as a yes.


	19. Death's Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Last question, you sneaky brat. What aren’t you telling me?” 
> 
> Death smirked. He was busted, and quite impressed Beca caught that there was something he was hiding.
> 
> “You may or may not have a bumpy ride back. But just hang tight. Things might just not, shall we say, click, immediately.”
> 
> “Define bumpy.” Beca demanded, but Death just laughed at her a little.
> 
> “No more stalling, Beca Mitchell, do you choose to live or die?” Death asked with a knowing smile. “And no joking around with a false answer, you’re bound to the first thing you say. This is serious business now.” he warned, sensing that Beca might be tempted to joke around.
> 
> Beca smiled. Death really wanted her to make the decision she was making now.

Beca greeted Death with a smirk on her face.

Death met Beca with an equally smug look.

“You know what I’m going to ask you.” he said, it wasn’t even a question anymore, it was a certainty.

“You took me to place where I never existed to show that I was important, no matter how little or how big my contributions are.” Beca said.

Death nodded, urging Beca to go on.

“Next, you took me to a place where I had the happy childhood I never had to make a point that things happened the way they happened because they were supposed to. Because the past, both the good and the bad, help made me who I was, and who I was affected the impact I made on the people that I was meant to cross paths with in life.”

Death smiled and waited patiently for Beca to continue.

“Then, you took me to a place where I had the same childhood but I persistently chose LA over Barden to point out that sometimes, the things we want in life aren’t exactly what we needed, and the things that we needed the most aren’t exactly things that we even realize we want or need. They’re the things we never plan for.” Beca said, smiling at the thought that Chloe was the one she never expected to pop up in her life, but nonetheless, meeting her had changed everything.

Death’s smile turned into a grin. Beca was getting it.

“Those worlds were meant to show me that there was no reason to question the past, we just need to take what we can from it and move forward. You wanted me to see the things that I don’t see right in front of me. My friends and how we made impacts in each other’s lives, and the importance of those.”

“Finally!” Death exclaimed.

“And you showed me what it would be like if I died, to drive the point further. So that I’d stop questioning my existence, my importance. You wanted me to stop asking ‘What Ifs’ and you wanted to show me the things I would probably regret, especially if I never get the chance to do them.”

“Yes.” Death agreed.

“And you showed me how my friends were coping while I was gone so that I would never question that again. So that I could see for myself how they were trying to be strong for me, and how it hurts them to see me the way I am now.”

“Correct.”

“But dude! Why’d you have to almost kill me!?” Beca exclaimed, causing Death to jump unexpectedly as she switched form calm and understanding to irked and annoyed. “You made me hurt Chloe, made her worry!”

Death face-palmed, he thought she had that figured out. “It was because you wouldn’t shut up. You were jumping to conclusions without knowing the whole truth, without understanding the situation. And you were kind of getting tiresome to be around when all you do is rant. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Tough love and all.” he said with a shrug.

“But dude, seriously? Cardiac arrest?!”

“I needed you to see the truth from your friends themselves.” Death reasoned.

“And you were refusing to cut it out too, you little twerp!”

“Well, at least I got you to realize something important. I did, didn’t I?” Death said, smiling slyly at Beca and Beca realized he was right.

Because at that moment, he did make her realize something important.

At that moment, there was nothing else in the world she would have wanted to do but to wake up.

Death planned it.

The boy tricked her.

That little twerp.

“So, Beca Mitchell, need I ask my question?” Death asked.

“Aren’t you already asking?”

“Cut it out, I’m being serious.”

Beca nodded. She was being difficult on purpose now. But it looked like Death was another friend who only wanted her to make the right choice and be happy.

And Beca had to admit, being friends with Death was an interesting notion all on its own.

“What happens next?” Beca asked, before Death could ask his all-important question.

“If you choose to die, I take you with me. If you choose to live, you’ll return to your body. It might take a few more days for you to wake up though. You – ethereal you – are tired from our journey. Your body had also been subjected to trauma, so you know, exhausted ghost in the machine, exhausted machine, you’ll need to rest and regain some strength. Lucky for you, I’m nice enough to help speed up the process. You’re body’s already recovering at a miraculous rate, at least as claimed by your doctors. You should probably thank me. I think it’s safe to say you owe me your life.”

Beca scoffed and rolled her eyes with Death’s last comment before taking deep breath. She thought about all the boy had said and nodded.

“Will I remember all of this?”

“Usually, no. But with you – you being stubborn, hard-headed, oblivious, and incredibly thick and naïve – I might make an exception.”

“Gee, thanks.” Beca said straight-faced.

“I do warn you though, if you choose to remember, you’ll gain the ability to see me, although there are gifted people who can already see me too, so you’ll be just like them. Which means, when someone around you has their time up, you’ll see me again. Now, I’m not gonna’ lie, it would be incredibly fun for me to drop by from time to time, you’re pretty interesting company.”

“Not bad yourself, half-pint.” Beca interjected to which Death chuckled.

“But, I mean, you might get to see me around Halloween, All Saint’s Day, and All Soul’s Day anyways since those are the only times of the year I can actually appear to mundane mortals. So hey, I’ll drop by, visit, trick-or-treat or something.”

“I’ll be looking forward to that.” Beca deadpanned. “But why those days?”

“The last two are days that usually celebrate the dead, you know, saints and other souls. Halloween’s just a fun day. It’s the eve before Hallows Day, in other words, All Saint’s Day. Mischief, magic, and mayhem are a bountiful. Besides, I can dress up as me and no one would know the wiser.”

Beca chuckled at that last thought while Death just smiled at her innocently. “It’s all about the candy, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you mean Mitchell.” Death said, feigning innocence which made Beca laugh a little.

“Why are you so adamant to see me live?” Beca asked just as Death was about to say something.

“Because you have so much to live for.” was all he gave as an answer.

And for a while they just stood there, in the middle of her room, with time still frozen.

“Last question, you sneaky brat. What aren’t you telling me?”

Death smirked. He was busted, and quite impressed Beca caught that there was something he was hiding.

“You may or may not have a bumpy ride back. But just hang tight. Things might just not, shall we say, click, immediately.”

“Define bumpy.” Beca demanded, but Death just laughed at her a little.

“No more stalling, Beca Mitchell, do you choose to live or die?” Death asked with a knowing smile. “And no joking around with a false answer, you’re bound to the first thing you say. This is serious business now.” he warned, sensing that Beca might be tempted to joke around.

Beca smiled. Death really wanted her to make the decision she was making now.

“I choose to live.”


	20. Jessica and Ashley's Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They pretty much had no choice but to agree to Aubrey about being her heralds/spies/stand-ins.
> 
> But getting the Bellas to actually practice was going to be ‘Mission Impossible’.

It’s been two week since Beca went critical, flat-lining and all.

And it’s been two weeks since Stacie and Cynthia Rose took command with a little help with the Legacy.

Everything should be going fine with the Bellas, Worlds-wise.

Except, even with all the brilliant ideas thrown around, securing funds for their travels, and getting help from past Bellas, they still had a problem.

The lack of morale and motivation.

Practice had been slipping into yet another planning session for whatever it was that the Bellas were up to again – because yes, they were always up to something – and they really needed to get things going if they wanted to be in top shape for the Worlds.

So that’s how both Jessica and Ashley decided to reach out to Aubrey.

Aubrey was a little preoccupied with Chloe, her scholastic progress, her back and forth switch from gloom and doom to hopeful and cheerful self.

And if Jessica and Ashley knew anything, it was that Chloe could actually be a handful at times.

The only two people who could ever handle her were Beca and Aubrey.

And the comatose state of one of them was the source of Chloe being a handful.

So yeah, Aubrey was busy.

She was also being a little cryptic about Beca’s state and how Chloe was dealing with it…

…but whatever it was they knew that if it was urgent Aubrey would have told them.

They pretty much had no choice but to agree to Aubrey about being her heralds/spies/stand-ins.

But getting the Bellas to actually practice was going to be ‘Mission Impossible’.

Luckily, Aubrey had a ready threat to get them into shape.

“And I quote” Ashley said as they gathered the Bellas and explained to them what was going on for rehearsals. “’You guys better get the first half of the performance down to a tee before Beca wakes up. I didn’t spend the last three nights without sleep to get the choreography down with Stacie for nothing.’ End quote.”

“Ugh, I already helped with the choreography, what else does Bree want? We are trying, we really are.” Stacie complained.

“And I quote” this time it was Jessica. “’If any of the Bellas come up with any sort of reason as to why they should skip practice for a little while, and yes I’m pertaining to you Stacie – I appreciate the help, but seriously, no time for free time for a while - but this goes to everyone... If anyone tries to object, and if no progress is done by the end of the week or sometime next week when I drop by at an unannounced period of time during Bellas rehearsal, I will personally come and whip you guys into shape through an aca-bootcamp from hell.’ End quote.”

“But why do you guys get to be in charge?” Stacie whined.

“And I quote ‘Stacie would be busy with costume design, and she’ll be helping me from time to time. CR and Legacy will be busy with coordinating with the other Bellas and getting a temp set-list ready for Beca’s approval. No one can hear a word Lilly says, so who’ll listen to her? Flo’s pretty much being Chloe’s assistant at the moment. And if Amy’s left in charge, we’ll get nowhere.’ End quote.” Ashley said. “Sorry Amy, Aubrey’s words not mine.”

Amy nodded. The rest Bellas looked thoughtful for a moment. They do not want the return of the Aca-Nazi. What’s more, they seem to agree that they do not want Aca-Nazi 2.0 from Aubrey.

“So where do we start?” Amy asked. “And please don’t say cardio.”

“And I quote” Jessica said. “’Chloe wants a video proof of cardio being done, and a live stream via Skype of the extra cardio punishment. Cardio is important, and with two weeks of cancelled rehearsals, we are all severely lagging behind.’ End quote.”

“Okay then, cardio, practice, then cardio?” Cynthia Rose reconfirmed. “And before either of you answer please don’t start with ‘and I quote’! It’s driving me nuts.”

Jessica and Ashley nodded instead.

Looks like their mission to get the Bellas in shape for the Worlds might be possible after all.

Beca would be so proud of them when she wakes up.

Well, hopefully.


	21. Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe started to sing. She started absentmindedly tapping the rhythm on Beca’s right hand as she was about to hit the chorus.
> 
> And then it twitched.
> 
> Chloe stopped for a moment before continuing the song with the rest of the chorus. At first she thought she was hallucinating but then she saw one of Beca’s fingers twitch again.
> 
> And when Chloe looked up to see anything, any sign that Beca was there fighting to come back to them, to her, she saw a smirk forming weakly on the DJ’s lips, her eyes still closed. 
> 
> Chloe was too dumb-struck to continue singing. The smirk faded away as Beca’s face relaxed back to its sleep-like state.

Chloe doesn’t know what to do.

Beca has been in the hospital for two weeks.

And it’s been driving her insane.

Her injuries were healing up quite nicely, the machines were gone, and Beca was stable.

But Beca hasn’t woken up yet.

The guy who hit her with his car show up some times, still deathly afraid of Chloe when he sees her, he has learned to stick with visiting when Aubrey is taking over her shift. Something about the lesser of two evils.

Chloe would notice cards and notes he would leave behind for Beca. All of them beginning with some sort of apology and ending with some hopeful wish that she gets to read them someday.

The woman from DSM would drop by too. But she would just usually send some sort of stuff toy to Beca’s room to avoid the conflict. Hospitals aren’t places for petty conflicts is her reasoning.

What ticked Chloe off were the flowers.

But she’s learned to live with them.

At least it was one more person who’s pulling for Beca.

Chloe quirked her lips to one side as her eyes landed on Beca. She was so still, and she looked so peaceful too. And Chloe couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked even in the state she was in.

Beca would always look beautiful to Chloe.

And Chloe smiled at the thought.

Even when Beca was in a coma, she somehow managed to cheer Chloe up just by the thought of her.

How could the tiny DJ always do that to her?

Maybe that’s just how love really is.

Chloe looked at Beca thoughtfully for a minute or two, remembering Flo’s words. She tried playing something softly from a pocket radio once.

But that didn’t do the trick.

She tried playing some of Beca’s earlier mixes from her laptop too, the ones she had actually given the redhead.

That didn’t help either.

And so Chloe tried.

Well, maybe not hard enough.

Chloe took in a deep breath as she racked her brain for an idea. Flo’s suggestion wasn’t completely out of this world after all.

It was music that brought them together after all.

So Chloe found her genius idea.

You shout it out, but I can’t hear a word you say  
I’m talking loud, not saying much  
I’m criticized, but all your bullets ricochet  
You shoot me down, but I get up

Chloe started to sing. She started absentmindedly tapping the rhythm on Beca’s right hand as she was about to hit the chorus.

And then it twitched.

Chloe stopped for a moment before continuing the song with the rest of the chorus. At first she thought she was hallucinating but then she saw one of Beca’s fingers twitch again.

And when Chloe looked up to see anything, any sign that Beca was there fighting to come back to them, to her, she saw a smirk forming weakly on the DJ’s lips, her eyes still closed.

Chloe was too dumb-struck to continue singing. The smirk faded away as Beca’s face relaxed back to its sleep-like state.

And Chloe didn’t even notice the tears streaming down her face, not until she heard Aubrey’s knock on the door.

“Chlo, are you – ?”

“Bree…” Chloe interrupted in a barely audible whisper. But with the way she looked at her, looked at Aubrey, with hope, and happiness, and relief drawn throughout every single feature on Chloe’s face, the blonde had stopped and waited to hear what else she had to say before deciding on what to do next.

“Beca.” she said in another breathy whisper.

“What about Beca?” Aubrey asked quietly as she slowly made her way to her best friend.

“I sang to her.” Chloe said. Aubrey asked her what song and when she replied with ‘Titanium’ the blonde couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Shut up.” Chloe said weakly, the smile on her face completely winning out. “Her fingers, they twitched, twice! Then she had a smirk on her face! Bree, I think she heard me.”  
Chloe sounded tired but excited, and Aubrey was happy for her. But the blonde was a little worried that her best friend might have been imagining it from all the sleepless nights.

Chloe huffed in protest so she continued to sing the song, if only to prove a point.

No smirk.

But there was a twitch.

And Aubrey almost cried in joy. Not that she’d ever admit that to anyone.

The two of them decided to share the news to Jesse and Dr. Mitchell the next time they saw them but decided that the rest of the Bellas could wait, especially after the doctors reminded them that anything could still happen, and while it was good to be hopeful, they didn’t want to build false hopes.

So Chloe continued to sing any and every song she could think of for the next three days. But to no avail, she wasn’t able to elicit any more reaction from Beca.

It was sometime around lunch three days later, when Aubrey dropped by with a salad for Chloe, that something did happen again.

Chloe was talking to Aubrey about how she was afraid that the doctors might be right, but after the first signs of Beca coming back to them had emerged, the former Bella captain – co-captain as Chloe would often remind her – told her best friend to give it try.

The first song Chloe sang to Beca had a significant meaning to the both of them – as much as Aubrey hated thinking about it, why Chloe told her about that private moment between them, she’ll never know – and suggested that she should try singing something with the same significance.

Chloe said she had sang just about every single song they’ve shared together and used for Bella competitions and performances.

“What about that song with the cups? The one she used to audition with?” Aubrey asked.

No, Chloe had not tried that.

So Chloe decided to give it a shot.

I bought a ticket to the long way ‘round  
Two bottle whiskey for the way  
And I sure would like some sweet company  
And I’m leaving tomorrow. What’d you say?

And Beca’s eyes fluttered open, if only for a brief moment. Both Aubrey and Chloe were immediately by her side, but all Beca let out was some sort of groan before her eyes closed again.

Peacefully drifting into slumber.

They called the doctors after that.

Chloe tried again, continuing the song, but Beca’s eyes didn’t open.

Her fingers twitched again though, and she let out something sort of a hum.

For the remainder of the day Chloe tried to sing every single song she’s ever shared with Beca that contained some significance. But to no avail, the stubborn DJ had her eyes shut close.

And then Chloe remembered a song Beca was singing softly to herself one afternoon. They were just hanging out in Chloe’s room, Beca was busy with a mix that she didn’t allow anyone, not even Chloe, to hear. When Chloe asked her about it, Beca shrugged saying “Maybe one day.” And then she started singing the song.

Chloe being Chloe immediately looked it up.

She didn’t know Beca actually liked a song by Sara Bareilles.

Chloe tried to remember the lyrics and how it went, but she couldn’t.

Giving up the thought –for now – Chloe decided to crack open her reading assignment for Russian Lit until she remembers it.

And then she did. Chloe started to sing the song absentmindedly, her attention still somewhat on the pages of the book.

Holding my breath  
Last one I've got left  
'Til I see you

Deliver my heart with the  
Pieces and parts of me left  
Every last day seemed to carry the weight of a lifetime  
Watch from the ground  
As the gold fluttered down from the sky

Chloe placed her book down as she sang the chorus. She stood up to reach the pitcher of water by the bedside table. She took a sip from her cup and decided to busy herself with the rest of her school work seeing that Beca still wouldn’t wake up.

She finished the chorus, watched at Beca expectantly, and with nothing from the DJ, continued with her school work.

Inches away from you  
Scared what I'll take from you, darling  
I can live with your ghost  
If you say that's the most I'll get

Darkness to light  
Move from day into night to be near you  
Still, here I stand  
I am sinking like sand in your sea

Sweet sun  
Send me the moon  
Empty the skies out  
Bringing me one step closer to you  
Send it soon  
And I will breathe in, breathe out  
Until you come in and out  
Of view  
Of view

Beca’s eyes fluttered open once again, she took in a steady breath and slowly released it as her eyes adjusted to the light of the room, and that was enough to get Chloe’s full attention.

“Beca.” she said quietly, and when the DJ didn’t close her eyes again, Chloe ran out to the nurse’s station after pressing the help button a number of times – because where were Jesse and Amy when you really needed them? – if only to call for Beca’s doctors and get them there faster.

When the doctors returned, Beca’s eyes were still open, she was blinking a lot, like she was just about waking up with her usual grumpy mood.

Chloe stood by the door – restraining every urge to just hold Beca in her arms and never let her go – letting the doctors check Beca and make sure she was alright.

They did the usual tests, asked Beca some routine questions but Beca only grunted in response, still furiously blinking away every now and then. When they asked if Beca wanted some water, she responded with yet another grunt and had a bit to drink. And when they asked if Beca wanted to rest, she lightly nodded and closed her eyes again to sleep.

It wasn’t until the next day that Chloe actually got the chance to interact with Beca again. She went back to sleep, but Chloe knew that it was just sleep, because the fingers on Beca’s right hand would twitch ever so often, even in her dreams, if only to tap out a beat of song stuck in her head.

How it’s possible for anyone to have dreams of songs and mixes, Chloe doesn’t know.

But that’s just one of the things that made Beca special.

Chloe stepped outside for a moment after returning from the Mitchell’s household to answer a phone call – Stacie checking up on what’s been going on in the hospital since Aubrey has pretty much have them in ‘Aca-Hell’. She didn’t want to disturb Beca now that she knew that the DJ was in a better state and simply resting.

When she returned to the room she saw Beca open her eyes taking in a pained breath while staring at the ceiling.

“Beca.” Chloe muttered, quickly rushing to her side and doing her best to hide her excitement and joy from seeing Beca finally awake. She wanted to just be there for her, at least for now.

“Do you want me to raise…” Chloe started to ask, sounding a little uncertain.

Beca nodded before she could even finish the question.

Once propped up at a comfortable height Chloe moved to take her seat. She watched as Beca looked down on her lap, taking a few deep breaths, it was as if she was trying to adjust to the state she had found herself in.

She probably had a lot of questions.

After a few minutes of silence, Chloe dared to ask Beca, “Everything alright?”

Her voice sounded light and airy, it was more of a murmur really.

But Beca heard her.

And ocean blue eyes met stormy blue ones.

God, Chloe had missed those eyes!

Beca’s eyes furrowed deeply as she looked at Chloe, and Chloe could feel her heart beat falter every now and then with trepidation.

“Who…” Beca started to say, her voice raspy and dry.

And Chloe started crying thinking she doesn’t remember her.

The redhead tried to fight the tears and calmed herself with deep breaths before gathering the strength to smile.

It was pained smile.

And Chloe could see the worry in Beca’s eyes when she looked at her again.

“Jesus, Chloe, please don’t cry! Don’t cry anymore.” she heard Beca say and Chloe looked at her bewildered. The DJ tried to reach Chloe’s hand, but the slight movement caused her a bit of pain.

Beca grunted and Chloe picked up on what she was trying to do. The redhead quickly stood up and sat carefully at the edge of Beca’s bed, holding the DJ’s scratched up hand.

“Beca, don’t scare me like that!” Chloe said, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

Beca brushed a strand of Chloe’s red locks aside, trying to wipe away the tears. “I was going to ask who sent those atrocious looking flowers, not feign having amnesia.” she heard her say as Beca’s own gaze landed on the yellow chrysanthemum.

Chloe chuckled. The arrangement was pretty, and the flowers themselves were nice. The only reason Chloe didn’t like them was the fact that Luisa, aka the DSM she-wolf of a leader, were the ones who sent them. But apparently Beca hated Chrysanthemum, so no worries there.

“You don’t like chrysanthemum?” Chloe asked as she dried away her tears.

“I prefer orchids.” she heard Beca say. Chloe didn’t even know she had a preference for flowers. “You okay Chlo?” Beca then breathed out.

Chloe nodded, and when she looked up she saw Beca smiling lightly at her.

She couldn’t help but smile back. Beca was breathtakingly beautiful when she smiled.

Injuries and all.

And she couldn’t contain the happiness that had taken over her as she quickly lunged at the DJ to take her in a tight embrace. Beca was back, and she was never letting her go again.

Except she heard Beca grunt from the pain of her injuries.

Chloe reluctantly released Beca as the DJ took in yet another deep breath. She gingerly pressed her head together with Beca’s as she released a content smile.

Yes, Beca was back.

The thought of it was all that consumed her.

Until she felt the DJ’s lips pressed on her own.

Then it changed.

Beca Mitchell was kissing her!

And Chloe didn’t fight the urge to kiss her back.

She’s waited long enough.


	22. No More What Ifs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was back.
> 
> And she could breathe in Chloe’s scent, she could feel her warm breath on her, see the glistening tears – happy tears this time – in her eyes.
> 
> She felt alive.
> 
> Nothing else mattered other than that.
> 
> Well, maybe one more thing.

Death saying it would be a bumpy ride back was probably the understatement of the century.

It was as if in an instance everything that had surrounded her had been violently taken away, like the ground beneath her had suddenly disappeared.

Then everything was black.

And Beca could feel the hurt, her body jerking, and twisting around until all was gone.

The twisting and the jerking.

She could still feel the hurt and the aching.

Then she finally felt it, a wave of calm taking over her.

She pretty much slipped into a deep slumber after that.

Until, that is, she started to hear a voice.

Chloe’s voice.

Singing ‘Titanium’.

Of course she would be singing ‘Titanium’.

And Beca couldn’t help but feel a smirk forming on her lips.

But she still felt tired and heavy.

And in great physical pain.

So she allowed herself to be lulled back into the deep sleep that had taken over her before. Death did say she would be tired and that she needed some rest.

After a while, Beca felt herself regaining some sort of consciousness.

She could hear Chloe singing again.

And of course she was singing the song she used to audition with.

And for a brief moment Beca willed herself to open her eyes, if only to see Chloe, make sure it wasn’t all a dream.

But all she saw was a flood of bright lights obstructing her sight.

And she let herself be taken back by the comforts of closing them. The comforts of sleep.

But she could still hear Chloe singing, and Beca couldn’t help herself be lost to the beat of the song.

The pain was less the next time it happened. Her body was still a little worse for wear, but she had started feeling better.

And of course Chloe was singing.

Beca couldn’t help but wonder why she started singing song number two hundred seven on Beca’s private playlist for Chloe, but it made her happy nonetheless.

And it made her want to see Chloe again.

So she opened her eyes.

This time the rush of lights flooding her vision didn’t suck that much. Beca could feel the soreness of her body, the pain of breathing sometimes, the throbbing that seems to be coming from somewhere in her head, and the aching bones that were healing.

It took some time before her eyes fully adjusted, and Beca had to admit it felt a little weird seeing the scenes going on in her own room from a different point of view. It was a funny thought that being in her body again and seeing things from that perspective was what felt weird.

Instead of the beautiful sight of the redhead that Beca had missed, she saw a flock of doctors and nurses checking on her. Yes, they were just doing their jobs, but it still annoyed her that she could barely get a glimpse of the girl who never left her side.

She didn’t realize how thirsty she was until one of the doctors asked her if she wanted to have some water. And she gladly accepted it.

And when they asked her if she wanted some rest, her body made the decision for her.

She was still tired.

But Chloe seemed to be the one thought that consumed her.

All that mattered at the moment.

Nevertheless, she did go to sleep.

When she had started waking up again, it was to the sound of the redhead’s voice, answering her phone, before the voice started to drift away.

And Beca opened her eyes to try and find where Chloe had gone.

She noticed that breathing was still painful sometimes, but the pain was a part of a constant reminder that she was alive.

And she welcomed that.

She heard Chloe’s voice again, breaking her thoughts, but it was a welcomed intrusion.

Chloe asked her about propping her bed up a little, or something like that, and she quickly nodded her head.

She wasn’t really paying attention to anything else.

All she could see was Chloe.

And then the something that was sticking behind Chloe, a vase of some yellow colored flowers. It looked grand and everything in its arrangement, which made Beca not like it at all.

She liked the simple stuff.

The simple stuff had their own alluring beauty that was special to it.

Yeah, Beca was never going to say that out loud to anyone with the risk of being called romantic.

Well, maybe to Chloe.

She was about to ask Chloe who in their right minds would send her something like that.

But then Chloe started crying, and Beca immediately felt really bad about it.

Then she smiled the most painful smile Beca had ever seen Chloe had.

And it felt like it was a knife to her heart.

“Jesus, Chloe, please don’t cry! Don’t cry anymore.” Beca quickly said to make it up. She tried to reach her, wanting to pull her closer, but the sudden movement was a little too much to bear for the moment.

Recovery was a good thing.

But the process sure sucked.

Beca grunted and Chloe picked up on what she was trying to do. Beca smiled when she saw the redhead propping herself next to her in the small hospital bed.

“Beca, don’t scare me like that!” she heard Chloe say, and she was crying again, but this time Beca knew it was out of relief.

Beca brushed a strand of Chloe’s red locks aside, trying to wipe away the tears. God, she loved that she could just reach out and touch Chloe again, feel her skin – you know, instead of passing right through her – and hear her voice, the real Chloe’s voice, again.

“I was going to ask who sent those atrocious looking flowers, not feign having amnesia.” Beca said. She did remember seeing a nice looking gauze pad plastered to the side of her head, and judging from the quiet throbbing she felt from that side, it wasn’t hard to figure out why Chloe had started getting all emotional.

Chloe chuckled but she didn’t tell Beca who sent it. “You don’t like chrysanthemum?” she did hear Chloe ask while she was wiping away her own tears with her hands.  
“I prefer orchids.” Beca said truthfully. “You okay Chlo?” and the redhead nodded as a response.

And yeah, even when Chloe probably thought she looked really messy and terrible from all the crying – she’s been an emotional wreck for the last two weeks or so – when she looked up to see Beca, all Beca could think of was how breathtakingly beautiful she was.

Beca smiled at the thought of it, and Chloe met her with the same brilliant smile she always wore on her face whenever she was with Beca.

The DJ was starting to wonder why the redhead hasn’t taken the chance to invade her personal space like she usually does – injuries considering, like that was actually going to stop Chloe – when the girl in question finally lunged herself at Beca, locking her in a tight embrace.

And Beca actually allowed herself to relax into Chloe’s embrace, taking in her warmth. She didn’t even realize how much she actually missed her until then.

Except Chloe was pretty much pressing down on all the wrong places, and Beca’s body couldn’t take the pain. She was still a little broken after all.

She let out a groan and Chloe reluctantly let her go, pressing her head down on her own.

She was back.

And she could breathe in Chloe’s scent, she could feel her warm breath on her, see the glistening tears – happy tears this time – in her eyes.

She felt alive.

Nothing else mattered other than that.

Well, maybe one more thing.

A thought occurred in Beca’s mind, she wasted too many chances.

Chloe looked perfectly happy and content with the way they were.

But Beca wasn’t, so she seized the day for once and closed in the distance between the two of them, capturing the redhead’s lips with her own.

And Beca was kissing Chloe.

It was a chaste kiss… to start…

Beca slowly pulled away to gauge Chloe’s reaction, but the redhead quickly pulled her back in.

Yeah, definitely not wasting anymore time then.

Chloe was gentle, no matter how passionate and eager her kisses were, afraid that Beca would still break.

But Beca didn’t care.

Although apparently a certain blonde did.

“Chloe!” she heard Aubrey’s shrill voice pierce through her happy daydream and Chloe immediately backed off from Beca.

Aubrey made her way into the room, Beca trying so hard to suppress a chuckle.

“Glad you’re doing okay Beca.” Aubrey said, turning her attention to Beca for a moment, sincerity clear in her voice. “But that doesn’t mean you get to jump her bones as soon as she wakes up!” Aubrey then added, voice back to being shrill as she chastised Chloe.

Chloe was still on cloud nine to even bother to protest with Aubrey. Beca kissed her. That was all that mattered.

Beca snorted and Aubrey glared at her side-eyed. Aubrey had come to see Chloe and keep her company to wait for Beca to wake up, and not even two minutes since she arrived and Beca was wide awake and back to her old routine. That and Chloe was acting like a teenager.

Aubrey couldn’t help laughed a little at how things quickly turned around.

“I apologize for my best friend here, Mitchell.” Aubrey said. This was clearly not what Aubrey had imagined Beca waking up from her coma was going to play out, and Beca could tell.

“No worries Posen.” Beca said. “I kissed her first anyways.” she then added to Chloe’s defense.

And Chloe found herself grinning like an idiot. Beca kissing her was one thing, Beca telling Aubrey she initiated the kiss was another.

Aubrey looked a little bit at a loss. This definitely was not how she thought Beca would react if she ever caught the two kissing, and again, Beca could read Aubrey like a book.

She was quick to come up with a response though as she said “Glad you finally grew a pair Beca.”

Beca chuckled, thankful that Death let her keep all the memories of what happened to her.

This was so going to be fun.

“Aw, come on Bree, is that the right way to talk to one of your dearest friends.” Beca quipped.

Aubrey’s face scrunched up and Chloe seemed to have broken out of her reverie in time to see Aubrey’s face blanched when the realization hit the former Bella captain. Chloe looked at her in confusion.

Beca was all smug about it. Aubrey knew she heard her say it. And Beca knew that Aubrey knew. The message was pretty much clear.

“You were supposed to be in a coma!” Aubrey screeched and Beca shrugged.

Chloe seemed to get it though and she blushed even harder than she had already been blushing.

Aubrey groaned as she stormed out of the room claiming she needed to get coffee.

“Oh come on, Bree! Don’t you miss your dearest friend?” Beca called out, she missed teasing Aubrey.

“Bite me!” she heard Aubrey yell out down the hall.

Beca started laughing a little until she realized that too much laughing still hurt. “Ouch!” she let out, grabbing the left side of her torso.

That pretty much brought Chloe back down to earth. “You shouldn’t have done that. Aubrey was worried lots about you.” Chloe said, laughing a little as well.

“You heard.” Chloe said, softly this time.

“Everything.” Beca replied in confirmation.

“Beca I – ” Chloe started to say, unsure where to begin. And Beca could tell, she could see the doubt in Chloe’s eyes.

So Beca decided to cut her short. “I love you, Chloe.”

Chloe looked at her, a little slack-jawed but clearly pleasantly surprised. “I really do.” Beca continued. “I love you so much. Probably started falling for you since the day I say you in the quad. You did something to me Beale, and I was so scared when I couldn’t figure it out. But I don’t want to waste any more time, I’ve already wasted a lot.”

Chloe simply nodded, tears back in her eyes. She leaned into Beca and carefully wrapped her arms around her for a hug, placing her head in the crook of Beca’s neck.

Beca pressed her lips on the side of Chloe’s temple and Beca could feel her smiling. She placed her hand around Chloe and they stayed like that for a while.

“I love you too Beca.” Chloe murmured against her skin. “But you already knew that.”

Chloe finally pulled away, still sitting on the edge of Beca’s bed. “How’d you know though? Could you hear us the whole time or…”

Yeah, Beca just had to tease Aubrey and reveal that she knows everything.

She could tell Chloe about Death and all that. She hoped that the boy would have at least helped her come up with something by popping up.

But no, Death wasn’t even around.

“That little dweeb.” Beca whispered to herself and Chloe looked at her confused.

Thankfully before Chloe could ask any more questions there was a knock on the door, Aubrey walking in with two cups of coffee.

“I’m glad you’re back though, Mitchell.” Aubrey said.

“I’m glad I’m back too.” Beca answered truthfully.

Everything was as it should be.

Except Chloe was still looking at Beca curiously.

And Beca was racking her brains to come up with an explanation to Chloe.

Should she or should she tell her the truth about everything?

She settled on telling her, it was Chloe after all.

Yeah, she could already imagine how that conversation was going to go, but Beca wanted to be all upfront with the truth, no more hiding anything to Chloe, starting with Death, and maybe that song she sang that finally woke her up along with the whole library for Chloe.

Oh boy.

This should be fun.


	23. That Little Thing with Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe had started to drift peacefully into sleep in Beca’s arms when Beca saw Death peak through her door with a wide grin on his face.
> 
> “Now this is how things should be. Oh, don’t mind me, just thought I might visit. Something about a certain DJ’s miraculous recovery has the whole hospital on a roll with the life-saving so I have some free time. You told her, didn’t you? How’d that go?” Death said while Beca wiggled free of Chloe a little, propping herself up a bit.
> 
> “Shut up shorty.” Beca replied.
> 
> “Missed me, huh?” Death quipped.
> 
> “Not really.” Beca replied, although with all honesty, she did miss the little twerp. It was strange, but it was like she and Death had grown to be the best of friends.
> 
> What Beca didn’t know was that Chloe was still awake, and from what she could hear, Beca talking to no one at all.

So yeah, Beca told Chloe about her journey.

And yeah, Chloe thought she was a little crazy.

Until of course two nights later when Beca made some space in her bed for Chloe to crawl in with her. The red head snuggled close, and Beca truthfully couldn’t get enough of it.

Earlier that day she had the strangest conversation with her dad, because yeah, Beca remembered quite vividly that he was in the same room as Chloe when she declared her undying love and devotion to her.

“So I guess you’re girlfriends now, huh?” Dr. Mitchell asked with a knowing smile, Chloe went red – her dad can be quite upfront sometimes – but Beca just laughed it off and said  
“Yes.”

That pretty much sent the redhead skyrocketing to the moon with the biggest mega-watt smile Beca has ever seen.

Jesse stopped by some time in the afternoon, saying that the Bellas were planning to visit her at the same time for some ‘important business’ that needed to be settled. Jesse was trying to be vague about it, but he was alluding to the bet.

So far only Chloe and Aubrey knew that Beca knew what was going on while she was in a coma. Aubrey doesn’t know about the whole thing with Death, only Chloe did. And Chloe pretty much convinced Beca to not tell Aubrey or any of the other Bellas her story.

Not like she was planning to.

If Chloe thought Beca was a little loose in the head, she can only imagine what the rest of the Bellas would do if she tells them.

Yep, definitely not telling them then.

Or maybe one day? Who knows?

Beca did, however, break the news about knowing the bets to Jesse claiming that Chloe showed her the slip of paper.

“Guess you and Amy won.” was all that Beca needed to say to let Jesse know she’s finally chosen to embrace her feelings for the redhead.

“I’m proud of you Becs. And I’m happy for the two of you.” Jesse said with the sweetest and most sincere smile she has ever seen on him.

“Thanks. And not just for that, you’re a great friend Jess.” Beca replied.

So what exactly happened that night?

Chloe had started to drift peacefully into sleep in Beca’s arms when Beca saw Death peak through her door with a wide grin on his face.

“Now this is how things should be. Oh, don’t mind me, just thought I might visit. Something about a certain DJ’s miraculous recovery has the whole hospital on a roll with the life-saving so I have some free time. You told her, didn’t you? How’d that go?” Death said while Beca wiggled free of Chloe a little, propping herself up a bit.

“Shut up shorty.” Beca replied.

“Missed me, huh?” Death quipped.

“Not really.” Beca replied, although with all honesty, she did miss the little twerp. It was strange, but it was like she and Death had grown to be the best of friends.

What Beca didn’t know was that Chloe was still awake, and from what she could hear, Beca was talking to no one at all.

“Why’d you tell her the truth?” Death asked and Beca stayed silent for a moment looking quite thoughtful.

“Because she’s Chloe. I wanted her to know.”

“Did you show her your playlist yet?”

“The playlist can wait. I don’t have my laptop with me squirt.”

“Did she believe you about the story?”

“I honestly believe that she thinks I was having some psychedelic dream of sorts that crossed with what I heard while I was in a coma. But it was worth it, I’ll take the teasing. Telling her what I saw in those worlds, what it made me feel, what I realized, I don’t care if she doesn’t believe me, for as long as she knows that she’s my anchor; that she’s all I ever needed that I didn’t even know, that I love her.”

“Beca Mitchell, a hopeless romantic! Who knew?” Death quipped and Beca glared at him.

Death chuckled. “You know, I can always just appear to Chloe one day when I visit you during one of my holidays. Or the easiest way to convince her now…”

“Dude, don’t you dare!” Beca hissed, wrapping her arms tightly and protectively around the redhead. “Nothing happens to Chloe, and this time when I say nothing and you promise nothing, you mean it, you little twerp!”

“Yep, you’ve changed a lot in a few days Mitchell.” Death deadpanned. “But it does touch my heart to see you care for her a lot. This is me being honest, by the way.”

“She’s Chloe.” was all Beca gave as a reason. It was the plain and simple truth. “And, wait, did you just say you have a heart?”

Death simply rolled his eyes with regards to Beca’s last comment. “I can see that. What I did mean is that you could always tell her something that you saw during the flashbacks I let you see, you know something private that no one else but Chloe knew. Something she said that only she herself can corroborate and maybe add a detail or two. The details from everything else, she could simply say that some nurse, or either Jesse or Aubrey, maybe even your dad, told you about and you matched it with what you heard.”

“What do you mean?” Beca asked.

“I didn’t let you keep your memory for nothing, Mitchell.”

“Shut up, Death.”

Chloe jerked a little when she heard Beca say Death. Still feigning being asleep, Chloe instead made some grunts and pulled herself closer to Beca trying to sell the idea she was still asleep and only dreaming.

“You’ll wake her up if you keep getting me riled up.”

“Fine, just thought I’d visit. You’re quite something Mitchell, and you are a lot of things, but you are also a friend of mine.” Death said before leaving.

Beca, falling for Chloe’s trick, pulled her in closer with her one good arm at the moment – as if they weren’t close enough – and sighed contentedly before drifting into sleep as well.

Only Death knew that Chloe was very much awake.

But Beca didn’t need to know that.

The next few days were full of surprises. Beca’s boss from her internship dropped by saying how her friends barged into his office with some of her work and he thought it was amazing. For a moment or two Beca thought they had discovered the ‘CHEMISTRY’ folder but thankfully it was just some of her other private mixes – the ones she thought only Chloe heard – but apparently the Bellas had gotten a hold of.

Yeah, she was definitely going to get to the bottom of that, seeing as Chloe had no clue about it.

Aubrey gave her Bellas updates for their prep for the Worlds, she also caught her up with Emily’s plan and how each of the Bellas are taking care of it. Aubrey said something about the set-list but told Beca not to think about it for now, they’ll have time for that later.

The weekend rolled in and the Bellas finally showed their faces, visiting Beca in the hospital room. Beca had asked Jesse to ask Amy to bring her laptop with her when they come visit along with a ‘Top Secret’ external hard drive that Beca had to give precise instructions for Jesse to find and bring her himself when he comes with the Bellas.

The Treble and the Australian did just that. The Bellas took turns trapping Beca in a tight hug that she didn’t even try to resist – at the end of the day, she really did love those awesome nerds.

“We didn’t even know you were starting to come to Beca! Aubrey here and Treble boy kept mum.” Cynthia Rose commented as she released Beca from her hug.

“We didn’t want to keep your hopes up only to break it.” Aubrey answered truthfully.

“How’d you wake up anyways? Was it all like a fairy tale, true loves’…?” Stacie started to say before Amy nudged her.

They didn’t want to freak Beca out with the whole We-Totally-Ship-You-With-Chloe thing.

“Did you follow my advice and played her music?” Flo jumped in, asking Chloe.

Beca smiled at the sentiment behind Flo’s suggestion. But before the Bellas caught on to the genuine smile on her face, she took the opportunity to tease Chloe a little.

“Yeah, no, Chloe totally thought that playing Justin Bieber songs would save my life so she gave it a try, and she was right. I couldn’t take hearing another ‘Baby, Baby, Baby, Oh’ so I just had to wake up, turn it off, and glare at her a bit.”

The answer elicited a “Hey!” from Chloe and the Bellas laughed for what felt like the first time in the past couple of weeks.

Their captain was back.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure you were a little too preoccupied to be glaring Beca.” Aubrey then quipped.

“I don’t know what you mean my dear friend Aubrey.” Beca shot back

Yeah, Beca was definitely back.

They soon caught Beca up with what’s been going on, Bella-prep-wise for the Worlds. Then of course, like always, crazy shenanigans ensue. The group kept asking Beca what being in a coma was like, wanting to know what she went through.

Stacie asked if the creepy skeleton cloaked version of Death had trapped her somewhere.

Jessica and Ashley thought she was in some sort of limbo.

Amy’s theories involved passing a series of tests.

Emily started to ramble on about the different theories she read online and Beca had to remind her to breathe.

Flo talked asked if she saw her guardian angel and Beca simply took a quick glance at Chloe and smiled knowingly.

Cynthia Rose asked her if she was had an out of body experience.

Jesse speculated that Beca had a trip down memory lane.

Aubrey stayed silent.

And Beca feigned innocence to everything.

Lilly knew she was lying though, but she let it go.

Beca knew that little bit of information since Lilly’s bet was that Beca and Death were probably on a journey and though it was as simple as that, no details whatsoever, Lilly’s bet was right on the money.

Then of course the Bellas asked if Beca knew about any other bets, having no clue whatsoever about the progress of her and Chloe’s relationship.

And the look on Chloe’s face was enough to give it away.

The squeals of joy that followed was pretty much the expected response.

And when Amy found out that she and Jesse would have won the bet she let out an exasperated sigh, blaming Jesse for getting caught.

That and the extra cardio punishment that he didn’t have to endure.

She was happy about the ten percent she and Jesse get to share from the pool though.

And to appease the Australian, Jesse gave up his shares to Amy.

It made the extra cardio a little worth it. Just a little. Like a miniscule microscopic amount of little.

Beca found herself smiling a lot and laughing with the company of her friends. She was allowing herself to live, to have fun, to just enjoy the moment.

One of Beca’s doctors dropped by, the perfectly handsome Dr. Mercier, checking on some things with Beca’s cognitive function and what not, and the Bellas had to exit the room for a while.

Only Chloe stayed.

Because of course Chloe will always stay.

When Beca’s doctor left for the rest of his rounds, the Bellas reentered the room. Beca tried to stifle a yawn when Aubrey clapped her hands, “Alright guys, the munchkin has only enough energy she can store. We have to let children rest after a tiresome afternoon.”

“Oh, you know you love me Bree.” Beca commented. Instead of getting her usual you-think-you’re-so-smart glare from Aubrey, the blonde simply looked back at her with a knowing smile.

Aubrey knew she was tried, and miraculously healing or not, she needed rest.

And she also knew that Beca just pretty much wanted to be with Chloe for now. They still have a lot of catching up to do.

Aubrey ushered the girls out of her room while Amy and Jesse left Beca’s laptop and help her set thing up. They have no idea what she was doing and before they could ask her, Beca pretty much shooed them away as nice as she possibly could.

Stacie was waiting for Amy and Jesse by the door talking about something with Aubrey and Chloe stealing a curious glance at Beca every now and then.

The three finally left, leaving behind only Aubrey with Chloe, but not before Stacie made a quick dash back to the door imparting her wholly unsolicited advice.

“Chloe, I know you’ve waited long enough but please take it easy on Beca, she’s still banged up and I don’t think she can handle anymore of it.”

Chloe and Beca quickly chorused an indignant “Stacie!” both having their cheeks burning red. The taller brunette shooting a mischievous wink in return.

Aubrey laughed. “I’ll walk them out. But do get some rest hobbit. I think I’ll head back with them to the Bella house too so see you two tomorrow.”

As soon as Beca was sure they were alone she typed in the password on her computer and while she waited for the settings to load, patted down the space beside her in the bed for Chloe.

The redhead wasted no time and scooted over to Beca, face scrunched up in confusion when the DJ opened a folder called ‘CHEMISTRY’ from her desktop and from the external hard drive.

And Chloe’s jaw dropped.

It was a music library for her. There were thousands of songs and mixes Beca had named after Chloe.

And Chloe saw the song that she sang for Beca when the DJ finally woke up as part of the whole list. Beca told her what the song meant, how she started to miss Chloe whenever she wasn’t there by her side, how sometimes she was like a dream she just couldn’t reach, how much she was afraid that Chloe would soon forget her when she graduated – granted this was at the start of the year, when Beca was still finding it surprising that she actually enjoyed the redhead’s company and before she found out she failed Russian Lit.

“Seriously though, I think that should have been enough to tell me how much you meant to me. I’d miss you when I just saw you five minutes earlier. And I hated the thought that when you left you’d be with some sculpted frat boy who can’t even appreciate you for what you are. I’m the definition of oblivious, aren’t I?” Beca commented and Chloe couldn’t help but laugh a little, still wholly overwhelmed by Beca’s library for her.

Beca looked up to Chloe, the redhead’s expression unreadable as the laughter died out. She smiled sheepishly at Chloe when she finally took her eyes of the screen, after scrolling through some of the titles. She did a brief explanation of how she would make the mixes after their interactions, whenever they hung out, or whatever. Some carried with them significant memories, others were just songs that reminded Beca of Chloe.

But she’d always add a mix or two every day.

Every single day.

“Look Chloe, I don’t really know where to start. We kinda just jumped in after, you know, I kissed you, and then you probably think I’m still a little loose in the head when I told you about the Death thing. But I did leave out this detail. You see, in one of those ‘What If’ worlds, in the ‘What If I Died’ that I told you about, you get to find out about this music library for you after I’m gone, and I don’t want you to wait that long.”

Chloe looked at a Beca with a mix of happiness and sadness. “Okay, maybe talking about grim topics should be off the list of what we should talk about for now.” Beca continued. “Chloe, I don’t know how many times I’m going to tell you this, but I love you. These songs were also my way of saying that, a way my subconscious was trying to screamingly tell me too when I was being all, you know, blind of my own feelings. Anyways, I don’t know how many more times I’ll get to say I love you, or how many times I get to show you how I feel for you, so I’m doing all that I can now, starting with this.”

“Beca…” Chloe started to say, tears still in her eyes as a smile was starting to break free.

“Let me finish, Chlo.” Beca said and Chloe nodded. “And I know I kind of jumped the gun when my dad asked if we were girlfriends and I immediately said yes, but I think we both agree that we’ve wasted so much time already. I also know that I won’t ever be perfect, I’ll be on your nerves a lot and mess up, but I want you to know, I’m not gonna run away, because I know now that you’re the only one I want to run to.”

Chloe immediately held Beca in a tight embrace.

And while Beca held Chloe she realized what Death had meant.

During one of Chloe’s private moments she told Beca something and asked her a few questions.

_Why Jesse?_

_Why not me Beca?_

_Do you even know how I feel about you?_

_Did you even know how I started falling for you after we sang together?_

_Okay, maybe that was a little weird granted that we were both naked at the time. But it hit me, you know, hard, after auditions, and then the riff-off. You were always on my mind._

_Do you know you’re my reason for staying?_

_Because it kind of hurt. And it hurt a lot each time you would brush it off. But I can’t blame you, because I never really said anything. And I just simply thought that you didn’t feel the same way._

_But Jesse told me, hinted actually, that you felt something for me too._

_So did you know then?_

_Will you ever let me know?_

It was late at night. The door was closed. No nurses or doctors.

It was just Chloe and Beca in the privacy of Beca’s room.

And Beca didn’t need to repeat Chloe’s words, all she needed to do was to answer them.

She chose to answer all of Chloe’s questions. She already started to anyways, might as well answer them all.

“I’m sorry I didn’t kiss you then. That I chose Jesse. That I hurt you. It was just… I was scared, and Jesse was safe. I was so confused, and even when I did finally realize, you were just too good to be true Beale. I couldn’t understand why you would love me. But I’m happy you did. Thanks for staying with me, Chlo. For choosing me, even when I probably didn’t deserve it.”

“I love you too Becs, so much.” was all Chloe could say in reply, whispering her words against the crook of Beca’s neck.

And Beca smiled as she could feel Chloe smiling too. “By the way Beale, I’d like my shirt back one day. You know, the one you were wearing when you asked me all those questions I just answered. That’s my favorite shirt.” she commented.

Chloe was a little surprised. Beca’s eyes were closed when she had that moment with her, she was still in a coma. She was wearing a hoodie when she left the Mitchells’ household that afternoon, so no one would have known she was wearing one of Beca’s old shirts. She didn’t even know it was her favorite, it was just that when Chloe was going through some of Beca’s old wardrobe it stood out, a simple black shirt with a pair of white headphone printed on it, the chord endlessly entwining itself. It was just so Beca. And Chloe would later find out that it was Beca’s favorite for some personal reason, even when she rarely wore it – something about not wanting it to fade so soon or something.

But anyways, Chloe only removed the jacket when she was all alone in Beca’s room, having her dialogue.

She remembered putting on her hoodie again before daylight because it got chilly.

So that must mean… And the night before, Beca was really talking to…

She was beaming back at Beca when Chloe finally pulled away from the hug, quickly pressing down her lips on her forehead and then on her lips. “I believe you.” Chloe then sighed.

“Thanks?” Beca responded. She really didn’t get why Chloe would say that as a comment after her whole heart-felt speech, but whatever.

“No, I meant, about Death.” Chloe edified and Beca slowly nodded getting the redhead’s point across.

That was easy.

A little too easy.

Beca looked at Chloe with a raised brow, a smirk on her lips.

And of course, Chloe caved.

“I might have heard you talking to no one last night Beca. It honestly worried me a little because I couldn’t make sense of what you were mumbling, and I knew you were still awake. And then, I don’t know, with what you said, things just clicked.”

“Huh” was all Beca replied.

“But seriously though, how can you still see Death? Is he scary looking? Does he actually carry a huge scythe around or...?”

Beca let out a little laughter. “Something tells me you’re going to like him a lot Chlo. And he may or may not have a sweet-tooth.”


	24. The Bellas' Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recovery sucked. It was painful and tiring.
> 
> But with people who love you, who support you, like the ones Beca had, she knew she was going to be alright.

What’s worse than the pain from waking up from a coma and realizing you’re body’s all messed up?

Apparently, it’s the pain from getting said body all fixed up.

Also known as physical therapy.

Chloe was patiently by Beca’s side as always, even when the DJ would whine, complain, or scream that trying to move her broken leg or fractured arm by even just a little was way too much.

And Chloe would always be ready to remind Beca that she was the one who kept going on and on about getting better fast, to get back with the Bellas, kick some DSM ass during Worlds, and make up lost time.

But of course the redhead was also always the first one to stop Beca when she’s exerting too much effort.

Chloe saw the damage too, she saw the scars that Beca was starting to get all conscious about.

And she’d remind Beca that those were her battle scars, and that she survived the fight for her life.

That would only appease the stubborn DJ a little. What would get her to stop though was Chloe telling her that she thought the scars were sexy, reducing Beca into a mumbling blushing idiot.

“At least the scar on my head is a bit hidden.” Beca sighed.

“Really babe, what I’m more relieved of is that your memory is intact.” Chloe honestly reminded her.

“Oh please Beale, like I could ever forget you. I’m pretty sure you barging into my shower is engraved into my memory forever.” the DJ quipped.

Beca was getting better, Beca was doing well. That was all the two of them could ask for.

And Chloe was always there by her side, an unwavering pillar of strength for Beca even when she would second guess herself on whether or not she could make it through the rest of what lies ahead for her recovery process.

How’d she get so lucky? She had no idea.

Still, she’s content and thankful for everything. Thankful she had the chance to get the chance to make everything right.

The guy who hit her came to visit once, to say that he was a little shocked with Chloe’s complete turn-around – she was actually being nice to him – was a bit of an understatement. Still, he spewed out his apologies to Beca and Beca forgave him.

Because something good did come out of their little tragedy.

But he didn’t need to know that, being forgiven was enough.

The Bellas visited often, they were happy with the progress that Beca was making, glad to hear that the DJ might be out of the hospital soon.

Beca could tell they were up to something but she decided to drop it. Flo told her how the Bellas were fixing up the living room to be Beca’s room for her return. While her fractured arm was healing fast, it was still takin sometime for her leg to heal properly, and the living room was the easiest place for Beca to have access to everything she needed.

Emily would drop by often to work with the set-list with her, Cynthia Rose, and Aubrey. Stacie would show up to update Chloe with choreography, they had a video of a few practices so far which helped with coordinating with their two captains at the hospital.

Jesse visited up every now and then, but he was getting busy with the Trebles and Nationals to stay for long. He also reasoned that both Chloe and Beca probably just wanted to be alone, without the awkward ex-boyfriend/best friend third wheel.

Which of course made Beca realize that they haven’t exactly gone out on a date, what with her recovery process and all.

Whatever. It can’t be helped now. But Beca made it a point to make sure that she takes Chloe on the best first date ever when she gets out of the hospital.

It was after yet another tiring PT session. Beca had drifted off to sleep while Chloe was studying, her Chloe playlist softly playing track after track from her laptop.

It never really stopped playing ever since she showed it to Chloe.

She was expecting to see the redhead when she woke up some time that late afternoon. The sun had just started to set, Chloe should have been by her side, with their simple dinner ready – Beca had always hated hospital food, so when the doctors gave an A-Okay for Chloe to have someone from the Bellas bring something from their favorite diner for dinner, Beca was ecstatic.

It was their usual nightly routine. Beca would catch up on some sleep after PT, Chloe would catch up with school work, they’ll have dinner when she wakes up and Beca would get updates on make-ups for the class work she’s missed from Chloe. Although Beca’s dad has been mostly handling all of it, making sure that Beca didn’t need to worry about her academic progress until she’s out of the hospital.

Nevertheless, that night wasn’t like their usual routine.

Mostly because Beca didn’t wake up to the sound of Chloe’s voice.

She woke up from the racket that Cynthia Rose, Amy, and Stacie were making in her room.

“See, you woke up Shawshank!” Amy exclaimed as she nudged Stacie.

Beca stared at the three of them wide-eyed in shock before her confused expression turned into a scowl. Her eyes were trying to adjust to the scene unfolding in her dark room but before she could reach for the overhead light by her bed, Stacie reached out and stopped her.

“Alright, what the hell are you three doing?” Beca asked as she was getting more and more irritated by the second.

“I don’t know what you mean Becs” Stacie replied, her voice light and airy.

And Beca couldn’t help but miss the highly suspicious tone in her voice.

“Where’s Chloe?” Beca asked.

“She’s with Aubrey, shorty.” Amy replied.

“O-kay.” Beca replied, still trying to figure out what the three Bellas were up to. She really couldn’t figure out why the three of them would take it upon themselves to start decorating her room with…

“What’s with all this?” Beca then asked, waving her hand around to the materials in question scattered around her room, starting to catch on to what her friends were up to. “This isn’t about the whole thing from the bet, right? Chloe told me that…”

“Oh no, that’s not that. Come on Beca, we’re not that cheap. And the pool about the bet on you and Chloe finally getting together is also quite a lot. We have other plans for that.” Stacie explained throwing a wink at the end and Beca wasn’t exactly sure if she should be relieved or worried about what the Bellas had in store for them for the date they were going to provide.

“Then what the hell is this?” Beca asked.

“We really weren’t sure what was going to happen when you wake up so we figured that we’d help with making magic happen.” Cynthia Rose simply answered. “Just trust us cap, leave everything to us. You and Red deserve this, we all agreed to it. So whether or not you declared your love and devotion to her the moment you woke up, we’ve already decided to pull something like this.”

“So you’re telling me that whether or not I, no, we were okay with this, you would have pulled it off anyways? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Yes.” Cynthia Rose, Amy, and Stacie chorused.

“Normally I wouldn’t allow this sort of mutiny, but, Chloe does deserve this, so…”

Before Beca could even finish her statement the three Bellas were already clapping their hands, jumping for joy, and crushing Beca in a group hug.

Which, of course, Beca pointed out loud. “Stop it! You’re all crushing me!”

The three Bellas released their injured captain and Beca looked at them warily. “But if there’s any funny business, I’ll ask Chlo to double your punishment.” she warned.

“Don’t worry Beca, we’ll handle this, you just go back to sleep, and when you wake up, just enjoy your time with Chloe.” Stacie reassured.

Beca begrudgingly agreed and soon she found herself drifting back to sleep with the sound of Stacie and Amy bickering about whether it’s ‘Bhloe’ or ‘Bechloe’, with Cynthia Rose managing to get the two back to work with threats of more cardio from their captains if they don’t get this right.

Beca woke up minutes before Chloe walked in the door. She had to admit, the Bellas had done a good job… so far at least…

Chloe looked quite peeved and annoyed from having to be pulled away for a solid two and a half hours for something that even Aubrey was being vague about.

So when the door opened and Beca saw Chloe’s reaction change from irked to pleasantly surprised and excited, she couldn’t help but laugh.

The Bellas did alright.

“Beca, what on earth is all of this?” Chloe asked as she walked in the room and shut the door. The room was dark with all the lights of, except from the multicolored illumination coming from the glow sticks that lined every edge and corner of the room with the floor sprinkled with red rose petals. On the wall of Beca’s bed was a heart lined with the same glow sticks with ‘Bechloe’ spelled out in the middle.

“Apparently the Bellas had their heart set on us becoming a thing.” Beca said with quite possibly the widest grin that ever graced her face. Chloe looked like a beaming child on Christmas day, excited with all the presents she has received.

“What’s in this thing?” the redhead asked, pointing at the picnic basket set aside Beca’s bed. The DJ shrugged, she hasn’t taken a peak. She only then noticed that right next to it was a bag, Jesse’s backpack. Chloe looked at Beca curiously and she simply shook her head in response.

Chloe started unpacking the contents of the picnic basket. It contained a pack of Flo’s brownies, Lilly’s special watermelon salad, a pack of gourmet sandwiches from Emily, a few juice pouches from Jessica, and a pack of chocolate dipped strawberries from Ashley.

Jesse’s back pack contained a bunch of chords and a projector with a note to connect it to either of the girls’ laptops. The backpack also contained a few classic movies, some of Chloe’s favorites, and a thermos of hot chocolate for a late night drink.

As Chloe started setting everything up, the projector set to face one of the glow stick free walls, Beca noticed a small sketchpad looking thing at the bottom of Jesse’s pack. As soon as the redhead returned to her side, Beca pointed to the sketchpad and the two flipped through its contents. The first page had a note from Stacie ‘ _This is your love story, as told through the eyes of your friends’_

It was a scrapbook of photos of the Bellas, mostly of Beca and Chloe, snapshots of moments that they thought were private, photo evidence of stolen glances and lingering touches.

Each of the Bellas had contributed a photo or two, with some notes and captions. Somehow Beca and Chloe knew that the cruder comments came from Amy without the need of fully examining the different penmanships of the Bellas scribbled on the page. Even Aubrey had some contributions.

At the end of the sketchpad was a note from Cynthia Rose. ‘ _Because the two of you deserve your happily ever after. It’s time you guys face the music.’_

Beca laughed as Chloe closed the scrapbook a little teary-eyed. Chloe looked at her with a questioning gaze and she shrugged. “You have to admit, they really wanted us to just get it together and be with each other.”

“I’d call that having great friends.”

“And I’m not disagreeing. But for our friends to make sure we get a proper first date no matter what condition I’m in…”

“You think that it’s sweet, don’t you?”

“Your words, not mine Beale.” Beca quickly replied, but Beca knew that Chloe knew what she thought of it.

And so Beca enjoyed her first date with Chloe.

Recovery sucked. It was painful and tiring.

But with people who love you, who support you, like the ones Beca had, she knew she was going to be alright.

And considering there would be one more date in the books courtesy of the Bellas.

She was definitely looking forward to a fast recovery.


	25. What Lies Ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote a sequel of sorts to this story... I'll be uploading it some time soon.
> 
> But for now, here's the last chapter of 'What If'

She did it. She made it. They all made it.

It was a hard road ahead of her, but she made it.

Beca felt the rush of performing, the music that flows through her bloodstream with every beat, with every note, and the butterflies that take over with each time she kisses Chloe.

And when they were announced winners of the Worlds, she felt all those at the same time.

She felt alive.

And was it strange that it was all thanks to Death?

Yes. But in the end being alive was what was important.

That and kicking DSM’s ass on a world stage for everyone to see.

And when it came to Chloe, the goosebumps never went away. It was a constant with each firsts they took, each step towards tomorrow.

And it was all because she chose to live.

Yeah, Beca would always be grateful to that little twerp for opening her eyes.

The Bellas had apparently planned their second date to be in Copenhagen, visiting all the romantic sights the city had to offer.

Because, yes, apparently the pool money was enough to cover that and more.

And Beca never took of the musical note-shaped locket the Bellas got her when she got out of the hospital. Inside of it was a small print picture of all of them squished into the tiny frame of the locket, with the words ‘Made of Titanium’ engraved on the back of it. The Bellas never got the inside joke, or why Aubrey insisted it be what’s engraved, but it came as a good surprise to both Chloe and Beca.

It’s been three years since then.

Beca made it, turned her dreams into reality.

All thanks to those acapella nerds who believed in her, to the best friend who knew she’d get the happy ending to her movie, and to that redhead who barged into her shower one day.

Yep, especially to that said redhead.

It’s been three years and Beca was all but nervous. She waited long enough for the moment she’s been planning for a whole year – because she was, after all, a perfectionist when it came to everything related to what mattered to her most.

And who else mattered most but Chloe.

Yep, it all comes down to one moment that very night.

Why she thought of getting the darn thing on a day where everyone would be busy and in stupid costumes was a little bit questionable.

Technically, she entrusted Jesse with that bit.

But there was a whole mix up when he picked it up two days ago and she hadn’t had the time to right it until the day itself.

But she’s been busy with other things.

They were having their own Bellas reunion of sorts that night since all of them would be in LA for Halloween, so there’s that too.

No costume party though, Beca had been adamant with her refusal to wear any costumes of sort. She’s had to do that for the last two years for their record label’s company party, and for this year, no costumes were allowed for yet another reason.

“Hey, Chlo.” Beca greeted as she entered the door.

“And the hobbit returns!” Aubrey exclaimed as Chloe laughs. The blonde had gotten in over the night before and of course Chloe had to volunteer that Aubrey stays with them during her visit and while her own new place in LA was still getting fixed up.

“Whatever Bree.” Beca huffs. “Anyone else already here?”

“Nope, just me munchkin.” again, it was Aubrey who replied, with Chloe disappearing into the kitchen of their flat to refill a bowl of sweets. The blonde soon disappeared to her room to answer a phone call.

“Kids trick or treating?” Beca asked as she poked her head into the kitchen.

“Yep, and a bunch of teenagers too.” Chloe replied. She soon found herself wrapped safely within Beca’s arms as she set the bowl of treats down by the entry table.

Chloe was about to inch in closer and steal a kiss from her beloved DJ when the doorbell rang.

“I swear if that’s a kid trick or treating, Chlo…” Beca started to say when Chloe wriggled free of her and opened the door, and lo and behold there were kids trick or treating.

Why Chloe actually posted a sign that said they welcomed trick-or-treaters for Halloween was beyond Beca. Because seriously, who actually advertises that in their building?

But that was just one of the things she loved about Chloe.

There was a kid dressed as Superman, a girl dressed as Spider-man, a mix of mummies, vampires, and zombies. And a few grim reapers. All dressed in a skeleton outfit with a black cloak wrapped around them, some with plastic scythes too.

And of course Chloe would joke “Oh look Beca, it’s your good old friend Death.”

She totally did that every single time.

Beca had decided to get ready for the party. Aubrey and Chloe took turns with answering the door to give candy as they themselves got ready, dressing up and adding finishing touches and all.

It was still a little early for the Bellas to start arriving, so Beca took her time. She had wanted to talk to Aubrey about the _thing_ she got earlier but Chloe won’t let her best friend out of sight. Something about someone that the blonde was secretly dating. Apparently she won’t share the details with her girlfriend.

Yep, every time Beca thought about the title, it still made her smile.

Chloe Beale was her girlfriend.

But hopefully not for long.

Aubrey had disappeared back to her room to answer yet another mysterious phone call and Beca had just stepped out back into the living room after grabbing a new refill for their candy bowl when the doorbell rang again.

Chloe answered the door with “Oh, aren’t you just adorable!”

Beca got a closer look of the kid standing in front of the door. He had a sack instead of those plastic jack-o-lantern baskets that people usually use for trick-or-treating. He was wearing a rather long tattered and torn shroud with a hood that covered his face quite well, and all Beca could see was incredibly pale skin underneath.

“And who are you dressed up as?” Chloe asked totally enamored by the cute-factor the boy seemed to have had on Chloe. But as soon as the redhead asked something clicked in the gears of Beca’s head and she immediately rushed to Chloe’s side, pushing her a side a bit as she lifted the boy by the collar of his weird looking cloak, somewhat reminiscent to the first time this scene had happened.

Beca smirked and raised one brow. “You little twerp! You haven’t shown your face since that nosebleed you gave me during my recovery and you find the nerve to show up three years later at my door for candy?”

“Beca, what on earth are you doing?” Chloe asked, looking slightly alarmed at the DJ’s sudden action. She was sure that the boy Beca had raised up high by the scruff of the neck would start crying anytime soon.

She was surprised to see him start laughing, to say the least.

The hood that covered his face dropped back as Beca placed him down back on his feet, laughing just the same, revealing the boy’s snowy white hair and rosy red eyes.

He and Beca shared an equally amused look. “So I was right, it’s all about the candy for you, huh?”

“Shut up Mitchell, you know you missed me.”

Chloe looked at the boy confused. She’s heard Beca mention him before…

“Y-you’re… y-you…” Chloe started rambling out.

“Nice to meet you Ms. Beale.”

Chloe looked a little bit shaken. Death was there, dressed as, well himself, for Halloween. How many people get to say that Death decided to drop by for candy and hang out a bit in their living room?

Apparently the count for that was two.

Her and Beca.

“Hey guys, what’s all the racket about?” Aubrey asked stepping out of the guest room looking at the strange looking boy now standing in the living room.

But Chloe’s mind was still on ‘shock’, gawking and gaping at the boy, what with Death smirking at Beca and acting like their buddies and all.

Aubrey stared at the white her and rosy red eyes. “Who’s the adorable alt-boy?” she asked and Beca couldn’t help but snigger at Aubrey’s comment. Apparently the blonde thought Death was cute too.

Chloe was rambling, Beca was very much tempted to just say that the boy was Death, but thankfully Death was quick to his feet. “My name’s DJ. I’m, um, Beca’s cousin.”

As soon as that was settled and Chloe seemed to regain some semblance of rationality, the redhead had volunteered to get even more candy for him. They were most certainly going to have quite a conversation.

Which of course left Beca with Aubrey.

With the coast clear the blonde was the first to act.

“Okay, so Stacie said she’s informed the Bellas of the plan. You sure your Treble of a best friend would show up with the rest of what you need?” she asked Beca in hushed tones.

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry about Jesse. He’ll pull through.”

“Well he didn’t exactly pull through when he picked-up the wrong one and you still had to go back to the store to get things sorted out. You had me lying through my teeth the whole afternoon.”

“I told you it was a mix up from the store and the designer, okay? Stop blaming Jesse.”

“Where is it? Can I see?” the blonde asked not being able to resist the urge.

And Beca fumbled for a small red pouch she kept in her jeans pocket. Aubrey immediately took a quick but careful look at its content, examining it the best she could with the little time they may have left before Chloe decides to return with the boy and join their company.

She handed it to Beca as she heard the voices coming from the kitchen. “It’s gorgeous Beca.”

“Of course it is.” was the DJ’s smug response. “I met with the designer and all to make sure it is.”

“Thanks for the candy Chlo!” Death said as he heaved the sack full of goods over his shoulders. Beca quirked an eyebrow at him before settling her gaze back at a still rather confused Chloe. “Gotta’ go Mitchell. Places to go and all. See you! Nice meeting you too.” Death added as he headed out the door, acknowledging both Beca and Aubrey on his way out.

Aubrey looked just confused as Chloe the next time she glanced back at Beca. “That was totally not your cousin, was it?” and Beca nodded. “Then who on earth is the boy?”

“Bree, you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.” was all Beca gave out as a reply before the doorbell rang again finally showing some of the Bellas.

“Show time’s about to begin. You ready hobbit?” Aubrey chanced a look at Beca as their guests started rolling in, her eyes only on the redhead that had become her life.

And Beca smiled.

She was more than ready.

This was the moment where it was all leading to from the very start.

She felt for the red velvet pouch in her pocket once more, made sure the ring was in there.

Yep, this is where all the roads led.

The road she took when she joined the Bellas. The road where she got hit, the road of her journey with Death when she questioned her existence and worth for living.

It all led back to Chloe.


End file.
